Samty Swoops on UniLodge in Major PBSA, BtR Power Play

Japanese real estate heavyweight Samty Holdings has struck a $600-million-plus deal to buy a majority stake in UniLodge.

It marks one of the region’s biggest cross-border moves in the living sectors this year, following Scape’s acquisition of retirement living group Aveo, and its reported move on a 25 per cent stake in retirement living operator Keyton. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that US-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus was running the rule over the living sector group, while Greystar had also thrown its hat in the ring. 

Greystar acquired seven Australian PBSA assets as part of its $1.6-billion GIC-Wee Hur deal at the end of 2024. 

Samty reached terms with outgoing majority owner Pamoja Capital and will also acquire UniLodge’s sister platform Essence Communities, the country’s largest white-label build-to-rent operator. 

The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals, but it is evidence of growing consolidation in the living sectors. 

Backed by Hillhouse Investment’s real estate arm Rava Partners and Daiwa Securities Group, Samty has been rolling out an aggressive global expansion strategy since going private in January. 

▲ The UniLodge Perth development has completed and will open for Semester 1, 2026.

It has repositioned itself as an integrated international real estate and asset management platform—closing its first hotel-focused private fund and offloading two multifamily portfolios to sovereign wealth funds while staying on as asset manager.

For Samty, the UniLodge acquisition cements a strategic foothold in one of the Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing accommodation markets. 

UniLodge manages 45,000 beds across Australia and New Zealand under an asset-light model, buoyed by surging domestic and international student demand.

Samty chief executive Yasuhiro Ogawa said the move would strengthen the group’s accommodation platform across the region while maintaining UniLodge’s quality standards. 

Daiwa Securities chief executive Akihiko Ogino called the deal a “logical expansion” of Samty’s regional partnerships and ambitions, while Hillhouse partner Joe Gagnon described UniLodge as a market leader in a “dynamic living sector”.

UniLodge chief executive Tomas Johnsson (pictured in main image) said Samty’s backing aligned with the operator’s growth plans across student housing and build-to-rent.

Founded in 1996, UniLodge partners with major universities and institutional investors across the living sector. 

UniLodge Perth, developed by Australian Unity, MaxCap, and Sirona Urban, has just completed and will open for Semester 1, 2026. 

UBS Securities Australia advised UniLodge on the transaction.