Wesfarmers invests initial $100m in Built Group joint venture
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Bunnings and Kmart owner Wesfarmers has agreed to enter a 50:50 joint venture with construction company Built Group to establish a new construction and development business named Built Living.
The numbers: Wesfarmers will initially commit up to $100 million of equity into the joint venture to fund the development of an advanced manufacturing facility dedicated to medium and high-rise residential precast concrete construction and development.
Built Living will use Design for Manufacture and Assembly methods, aiming to deliver apartments at about 20% lower cost and 50% faster than traditional construction.
The facility will be established in Western Australia and is expected to support delivery of more than 2,000 apartments annually once completed, with construction to commence in the second half of 2026.
The context: Wesfarmers’ commitment will be staged, with additional facilities in other states to be considered.
The WA government will support the establishment of Built Living through a long-term lease of land, together with direct support for the development of the facility. A portion of the facility’s annual capacity will be reserved for government-backed housing projects and the state’s social infrastructure pipeline.
Built Living will operate as a standalone company with its own board and management team. Wesfarmers and Built will have equal Board representation once Wesfarmers has fully deployed its initial $100 million commitment.
What they said: “Australia urgently needs more housing, and the Built Living joint venture is well positioned to address that need using internationally-proven construction models, to deliver high quality properties,” said Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott.
“Built brings world-class construction experience, sophisticated digital processes and a strong track record of quality developments, while Wesfarmers contributes investment capacity and demonstrated capabilities in advanced manufacturing and supply chain management.”
The source: Wesfarmers media release
