UI was founded by Josh Olsan in November 2008 to provide investors an opportunity to become capital partners with us to take advantage of the attractive investment opportunities available in the Japan logistics real estate sector. Josh has been actively involved in Japanese real estate and business for over 30 years and was an instrumental part of developing the ProLogis, AMB BlackPine in Japan and New City Corporation logistic businesses in Japan and China. In January 2012 Ross Antoci joined Unified as a principal and partner to Josh to broaden the scope of the asset and investment focus for our capital partners.
UI acquired controlling interest in UI Japan Ltd (formerly known as, UIG Asset Management Co., Ltd (“UIG”), in May 2012, a Japan registered and fully licensed investment management company. And UI China (“UIC”) (formally known as Song Lan) was established in May 2015; and at the end of 2016 Joshua and Ross moved to Hong Kong to establish UI Holdings Limited (“UIH”) as the group holding company.
In November 2021, Macquarie Asset Management (“MAM”), through one of its real estate vehicles, invested in UI Group and has provided initial capital to fund UI’s pipeline of investment opportunities across Japan and China.
UI Group has acted and continues to act for multiple investors including MAM and its institutional investors; CBRE Global Investors, Sumitomo, MUFJ Group, SC Capital as well as PAG, Star Asia and several private corporates and family office investors.
UI’s investment philosophy and mission is one of “focus”. That focus is:
We are truly focused on the specific investment and development opportunities we present to our capital partners.
Unique competitive advantages and strengths of the UI platform are
Mr. Honda has over 25 years of real estate experience having founded what was formally known as Corazon Asset Management which the UI Group acquired in 2012 and has now transformed into the UI Japan business today. Mr. Honda is the President and is responsible for Investment and Asset Management including for deal sourcing and investor relations. Since then he has been involved in over 1.7 million sqm GFA of commercial real estate investments and has been key in supporting UI’s investment and asset management activities in Japan. Prior to founding Corazon, Mr. Honda has held roles at Itochu Corporation in their construction and real estate division and Chelsea Japan Co., Ltd having been responsible for the development of a large retail portfolio.
Mr. Honda holds a bachelor of Science and Technology degree from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Hiroshi joined UI in 2023 as a Managing Director of Business Development and CIO Japan, and has over 38 years of real estate experience in Japan having developed, invested and operated over 2.5mn sqm of GFA. He acquired, developed, operated and disposed of various asset classed such as Logistics, Data Centers, Residentials, Student Accommodations, retails and renewable energies.
Prior to UI, he has served in number of senior positions including Representative Director at GSA Star Asia, Head of Industrial Capital Markets at JLL, Head of Real Estate at Walmart Japan, Vice president Development AMB Property Japan.
Mr. Takizawa holds a Bachelor of Architecture Degree from Kyoto University, Japan.
Ricky joined UI in 2023 as a Managing Director, Head of Asset and Investment Management and has over 30 years of commercial real estate, banking and finance industry experience in Japan. Ricky has extensive experience in asset and investment management of various asset classes such as logistics, data centers, office, retail, corporate and senior housing. Prior to UI, he served in numerous senior positions including Executive Director at PAG Real Assets, President of CapBridge Asset Management and Managing Director at JP Morgan Securities Japan.
Ricky is fluent in Japanese and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Asian Studies from the University of Sydney and a MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School, New York.
Jeremy joined UI in 2015 and spearheaded UI’s expansion into China. He is responsible for business development and leasing with 28 years of real estate experience in China, specializing in industrial and investment services. He has a long track record and extensive experience working for numerous multi-national manufacturers, logistics service providers and real estate developers investing in China and the Asia region, covering over 3 million sqm of sites and facilities including major MNC’s such as Intel, HP, Flextronics, Bosch, DHL, GE, Grainger, Prologis, Sumitomo, and Yamato. Prior to UI, he was a former Senior Director of Colliers International’s China Industrial Services, Senior Vice President of industrial acquisitions and asset development at New City Investment Services, and was head of CBRE’s China Industrial department based in Shanghai. Before coming to Asia in 1994, Jeremy worked for Fletcher Challenge Construction in New Zealand.
Jeremy holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing and a Bachelor of Commerce (Valuation and Property Management) from the Lincoln University, New Zealand.
Frank joined UI in 2023 as Managing Director of Business Development and has over 20 years experience in variety category of real estates development and cross border investment management. Prior to UI, he was the National Head of Business Development of Prologis China, focusing on capital deployment in China. He managed a team of 14 people covering deal sourcing, underwriting, investment committee approval, government relationship and other functions. Prior to that, he worked for Capbridge Group K.K as the Managing Director to lead the real estate investment and capital raising for projects in the US. Prior to that he worked for Tishman Speyer China as Head of Investment of China and New City Corporation as the Head of Investment for China.
Frank holds a Bachelor Degree in Mathematics from Nanjing University, China and an MBA from National University of Singapore.
Yong joined UI in 2021 as Head of Construction and has over 20 years experience in construction and project management. Yong has managed industrial and high-end warehousing and logistics projects with a total construction area of over 5,000,000 sqm. He has extensive experience in project management and pre-engineering submissions. Prior to UI, he was the Construction Management Director for ESR Group in China, focusing on the development and construction management of modern high-end industrial and logistics facilities. During his 10 years with ESR Group, he managed a team of about 25 people covering project management, quality control, EHS, cultural control and other functions. Prior to that, he has also held positions at China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., Singapore Jurong International Engineering (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., and Gleeds (Suzhou) Construction Consultant Co., Ltd.
Yong holds a Bachelor Degree in Traffic and Civil Engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China.