New South Wales’ 150-year-old land titles registry will be leased to Hastings Funds Management and First State Super.
The announcement made recently by the Berejiklian government confirmed that the specialist global manager and Australian superannuation fund signed a $2.6 billion deal for the registry. The deal allows them to manage the Land and Property Information (LPI) unit of NSW for the next 35 years.
LPI maintains a secure, efficient and guaranteed system of land ownership for NSW. It collects, collates and integrates property information in the state and makes it readily available online, over-the-counter and through approved information brokers.
Of the money received from the lease, the government will spend $1 billion on upgrading Parramatta Stadium and ANZ Stadium, as well as refurbishing Allianz Stadium. $1.6 billion will be deposited into Restart NSW, a fund that enables a range of high priority infrastructure projects to be funded and delivered.
Hastings and First State outbid three other contenders, including Macquarie's Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) with Link Group, Canada’s Borealis with Computershare, and The Carlyle Group.
With this advantage, the consortium is now in a good position to acquire other land titles registries across the country. Fairfax reports that South Australia is currently selling off its registry, but that the Labor-run Victorian, Queensland and Northern Territory governments have no plans to do so.
