Qualitas Acquires Starz Real Estate Platform for A$36.5 Million, Establishing European Commercial Real Estate Foothold

Australian alternative investment manager Qualitas (ASX: QAL) has announced the acquisition of the investment management business of UK-based Starz Real Estate for a total consideration of A$36.5 million, establishing a new European commercial real estate private credit platform. The deal was completed simultaneously with the execution of transaction documents.

The acquisition provides Qualitas with an established local team managing an existing loan portfolio backed by institutional capital, giving the ASX-listed manager an operational presence in the UK and European commercial real estate financing market. Qualitas described the move as an acceleration of its strategy to expand into international markets through both organic and inorganic channels, as outlined in its first-half fiscal 2026 results investor presentation.

Deal Structure and Financial Terms

Founded in 2018, Starz Real Estate is a UK-based commercial real estate private credit manager overseeing a £376 million gross loan exposure portfolio across 11 investments in the UK and Europe. The portfolio is currently in a capital repatriation phase.

Of the A$36.5 million total consideration — to be funded entirely from Qualitas' existing cash reserves — A$28 million is allocated to the purchase of Starz's co-investment positions held by the manager. The remaining A$8.5 million covers the purchase of net positive working capital, the majority of which is cash currently held by Starz. The company noted the total financial consideration is subject to final completion accounts and is not expected to materially change.

Under the acquisition agreement, the newly established European division of Qualitas will assume management of the existing Starz portfolio, comprising the 11 investments. Qualitas said funds under management, fee-earning FUM, and earnings from the European division will be reported separately from its Australian business. The company does not expect the establishment of the European office to have a material impact on FY26 or FY27 earnings.

Team and Institutional Relationships

A central element of the transaction is the retention of Starz's in-house team, which brings fully integrated capabilities across origination, asset management, finance, and legal functions. Qualitas said the platform is supported by global institutional capital that is complementary to its existing investor base, and is positioned to originate and deploy capital across multiple European jurisdictions.

Andrew Schwartz, Group Managing Director and Co-Founder of Qualitas, said the scale of the UK and European market underpins the strategic rationale. "The UK and European commercial real estate lending market is more than five times the size of Australia, providing a significant opportunity to expand our private credit platform in a large and highly developed market," Schwartz said. "We are excited by the scale of the opportunity and believe the combination of an experienced local team, synergistic institutional relationships and Qualitas' proven investment approach positions us well to capitalise on growing demand for private credit as traditional financiers' participation continues to decline."

The market size comparison cited by Qualitas is based on data from Bayes Business School's European CRE Lending Report (December 2023) and UK Commercial Real Estate Lending Report (2025), alongside estimates from Alvarez & Marsal's Private Debt Market Review (2025) and APRA's Quarterly Authorised Deposit-Taking Institution Property Exposure data (December 2025).

Qualitas Company Background

As of December 31, 2025, Qualitas reported approximately A$10.9 billion of committed funds under management and said it has financed assets with a combined value of more than A$40 billion over 18 years across all real estate sectors. The firm's platform spans real estate private credit, opportunistic real estate private equity, income-producing commercial real estate, and build-to-rent residential.

Qualitas is headquartered in Australia and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Investor inquiries may be directed to Nina Zhang, Head of Investor Relations, and media inquiries to Kate Stokes, Head of Marketing and Communications.