Beyond the benchmark: Performance built from execution

The strongest investment outcomes are often built long before they appear in performance numbers.

For the Dexus Jandakot Airport Fund (DJAF), outperformance has been less about a single market call than a series of operating decisions: retaining tenants, releasing space with limited downtime, matching new development to occupier demand and using the estate’s infrastructure to support growth.

The results provide context. DJAF’s continued benchmark outperformance reflects the resilience of its strategy across different market conditions. While the outperformance is notable, the more interesting story is how it was created. The drivers are clear: strong customer retention, disciplined development and an ability to convert demand into long-term income while managing leasing exposure.

The answer starts with the structure of Jandakot itself. Spanning 622 hectares, including the operating airport and airside precinct, Jandakot is one of Australia's largest and most strategically integrated industrial and airport estates. The estate combines an established industrial portfolio, development land and an operating airport business. As at 30 June 2026, approximately 60% of the estate's development sites were either completed or underway, representing more than 220,000 square metres across 19 projects. Supportive industrial conditions matter, but they do not automatically produce outperformance. Execution determines whether demand translates into occupied buildings, durable income and a pipeline that can be delivered without getting ahead of the market.

According to Fund Manager Kim Gregory, the outcome reflects the cumulative effect of active management. “Much of the return has been generated through consistently strong leasing outcomes across the estate, including tenant renewals, minimal downtime between occupancies, pre-commitment of development projects and the disciplined delivery of new supply to market,” Gregory says.

Development as an operating strategy

Development is central to that process. Jandakot’s land bank allows the team to respond to customer requirements while using speculative development selectively where demand supports it. At 30 June 2026, five committed projects representing 54,301 square metres were under development, providing a clear pathway for future income growth across the estate.

The important point is how projects move from land to income. In FY26, Jandakot completed 45,197 square metres of development across both customer-led and speculative projects, including the API facility, Flowserve & Gardner Denver and two speculative buildings at 19-21 Pilatus Street. The mix is deliberate. The 16,422-square-metre API facility reached practical completion in June, while the fully committed 22,710-square-metre PFD Foods facility remains on track for completion in October 2026. Pre-commitment provides greater income visibility, while speculative developments create capacity for occupiers seeking immediate solutions. The discipline lies in balancing the two.

Development also has effects beyond an individual building. New facilities increase activity across the precinct and can contribute to the airport business through ground lease rent, utilities and shared infrastructure. The expanding solar program is one example of infrastructure growing with the estate: 2.18 MW was installed by the end of June, a further 760kW was committed, and approval is being pursued to increase capacity from 5MW to 10MW with 4MW of battery storage.

Leasing as the feedback loop

Leasing results matter not simply because they generate income, but because they reveal where occupier demand is deepest. Across the March and June quarters, 11 transactions covered more than 63,000 square metres, while portfolio occupancy remained at 99.9%. Together with recent development commitments and expansion activity from existing occupiers, the activity points to continued leasing momentum for well-located industrial space against a backdrop of constrained supply.

Repeat customers offer another test of the proposition. A major occupier has committed to a new development at Jandakot, while a number of existing occupiers are pursuing expansion opportunities within the precinct. “Winning repeat business from customers of this scale is a strong endorsement of the estate,” Gregory says. “It demonstrates our ability to support customer growth while continuing to create value for investors.”

For investors, the more relevant takeaway is not the latest quarter's return but what it suggests about the durability of future growth.

With approximately 22 hectares of developable land remaining, a near fully occupied portfolio and a development pipeline increasingly shaped by customer demand, Jandakot enters FY27 with multiple pathways for growth. The challenge now is less about finding demand and more about continuing to deploy capital selectively and deliver projects in a way that preserves the discipline that has underpinned performance to date.