Australia: Wesfarmers has announced it has agreed to enter a 50:50 incorporated joint venture with Built Group to establish Built Living, a new business dedicated to delivering residential apartments at scale through advanced manufacturing of pre-cast concrete elements. The partners will initially each commit up to US$100m of equity to the joint venture to fund Australia’s first manufacturing facility dedicated to medium and high-rise residential precast concrete construction and development.
Built Living will use design for manufacture and assembly methods established in international markets, aiming to deliver apartments at about 20% lower cost and 50% faster than traditional construction methods. The facility, to be established in Western Australia, is expected to support delivery of more than 2000 apartments per year once completed, with construction to commence in the second half of 2026. Additional facilities in other states will be considered in due course.
“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 Group 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. We look forward to working closely with Built and the Western Australian government on what is a shared challenge.”
