Lincoln Place joint owner Nick Collishaw: “Never had such a luxury of choice”

The land lease operator, which in October last year stated it had hit over $44 million in development acquisitions in the previous nine months, will test the future of the business.

Lincoln Place currently operates 26 communities across their portfolio, totalling 6,000 sites. Of these, 1,900 sites have been delivered and the balance of 4,100 sites will be completed over the next five years.

Lincoln Place has been backed by Cerberus Capital Management during a period of significant growth and portfolio expansion, and Nick, the Executive Chairman who founded the business with Ben Hindmarsh in 2018, said the company was focused on ensuring it has the right capital to support its next phase. In 2023, Paul Yeo was installed as Group CEO.

“Paul’s appointment provided flexibility in our roles and now reflects the strength of the management team and the maturity of the platform we’ve built allowing the business to plan confidently for the long term,” Nick said.

He revealed they are considering two options for the business:

• An initial public offering on the ASX of Lincoln Place with the business rumoured to be valued at $1 billion or a;
• New financial or strategic partner to keep the business growing, with American investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, which has largely funded the rapid expansion of Lincoln Place, reducing or selling down its entire stake in the business;

“We have had unsolicited offers from offshore investment partners for a 100% stake and others for a significant share of the business,” said Nick. 

“As with many scaled platforms, there are a number of options available to us over time,” he said. “Those could include continuing with our existing ownership, partnering with new long-term investors, or exploring public market options if and when that made sense.

“The investment banks are considering an IPO or a new strategic partner to support the roll out of our long-term development pipeline.”

Goldman Sachs is advising Lincoln Place’s owners on the best course of action with a decision expected within the next couple of months.

“Ben and I are open to staying on. We are acting in a strategic advisory role nowadays,” Nick said.