Restraint the Edge for Kiō as it Builds $2.6bn Portfolio

In less than two years, Kiō Investment Management has grown from zero to six assets in three states. The alternative investment manager, backed by global investor Warburg Pincus, has a combined portfolio end value of around $2.6 billion. The formula for Kiō’s rapid expansion, according to founder and managing director Sam Bisla, is a deliberately conservative strategy, a largely autonomous team and a screening process built to filter opportunities before capital moves. Bisla says that discipline, not deal volume, is what has taken the firm this far—and how it will expand from here. This discipline was a driving force behind Kiō securing planning approval for a South Yarra build-to-rent project in 11 weeks, well inside the 9-12 months developers typically wait for a similar decision in Victoria. Development director Will Peters had advice in hand that would have let the project go taller, according to Bisla, but Peters chose to stick within the approved envelope instead of risking a longer contest over height. “It takes conviction to say no to another five floors but the risk to time and returns would have been significant,” Bisla tells The Urban Developer . Capital partners respond well to that kind of restraint, Bisla says, because it protects returns from the drag of planning delays. A process built to say ‘no’ Bisla says his deal filtering mechanism and the team that uses it are the secret to Kiō’s success when identifying and closing deals. Kiō’s analysts reviewed 297 potential acquisitions to land its first three assets, Bisla says. ▲ Most development directors chase every extra storey they can get. Kiō development director Will Peters didn’t. “We say no to about 99 per cent of what we look at,” Bisla says. “When we pick one, it’s been through significant effort and then we go very hard at it.” Four analysts now work through that pipeline. Refining the screening process has taken close to a decade, Bisla says, and began in his roles before he founded Kiō. Development, investment and operations teams at Kiō work in an overlapping structure rather than a linear handoff between acquisitions and construction. Four leaders anchor Bisla’s team: Will Peters (development), Jessie Zhuang (capital), Darwin Zheng (investment) and Anthony Lewis (operations). Each had autonomy over their divisions, through regular interaction and working sessions rather than through delegated follow-ups. Made to move fast Once the team is ready to pull the trigger on a project, they move quickly, Bisla says, confident in the diligence behind it. On one recent deal, debt approval, land settlement and the builder agreement were signed on the same day. Construction began two days later. The South Yarra project was designed for speed, too. Every floor follows an identical structural grid across 208 apartments, using five repeated unit types and two kitchen layouts, letting builders price and construct it faster, according to Bisla. Sitting on undeveloped land for a year carries a real cost, Bisla says, one the firm now avoids through tighter sequencing between finance, acquisition and delivery teams. A different kind of deal Most recently, Kiō acquired a $315.4 million Collingwood site ( pictured at top ) from UEM Sunrise, a 407-apartment build-to-rent project expected to start early works by the end of this year and reach completion by 2030. The deal runs on a fund-through structure, which Bisla says means both parties share decision-making rather than one side dictating terms. ▲ Kiō will also work alongside a vehicle associated with Cobuild chief executive Rotem Rotenberg to deliver 243 homes at the Fitzroy build-to-rent project. “It takes both parties to come to the table with some symmetry,” Bisla says. Bisla says the same structure would be used again, given the right site and partner. Beyond build-to-rent While much of Kiō’s portfolio has been built off the back of build-to-rent and studio living projects, Bisla’s ambitions do not stop there. Purpose-built student accommodation and co-living are under research at Kiō, sectors Bisla links to the same underlying pressures of undersupply and high immigration driving its existing portfolio. Expansion into those sectors won’t just be a push to add scale for its own sake, Bisla says. He is adamant the growth is a byproduct of process rather than opportunism. He credits the team structure and screening discipline built since the company’s founding as the reason for its success. Warburg Pincus has committed further capital beyond the initial backing that took the portfolio to its current size. Through it all, Bisla says, the investor is the priority. While he was at Brookfield, he was told to treat every dollar as though it were his own and put the investor first, “because that always comes back to you.” “My job is to deliver a return to the investor, relentlessly,” Bisla says.

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Leon Della Bosca
Tue 01 Sep 26

Restraint the Edge for Kiō as it Builds $2.6bn Portfolio

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