Explains how to configure joint venture assets in Scaler, covering partial floor area ownership and shared financial stake scenarios, with GRESB reporting guidance.
Purpose of this article
This article helps you correctly set up joint venture (JV) assets in Scaler and understand how consumption, floor area, and ownership data should be entered for each portfolio instance. It covers two ownership scenarios and their implications for GRESB reporting.
What is a joint venture asset?
A joint venture asset is a real estate asset co-owned by two or more parties under a formal arrangement, where each party holds a defined financial stake. In institutional real estate, this typically means:
- A single physical asset (e.g. an office building or logistics park) is owned by two or more funds or legal entities
- Each party holds a percentage of total ownership, defined by a joint venture agreement
- Operational control may rest with one party, be shared, or delegated to a third-party property manager, regardless of ownership split
- Each fund may report the asset independently to frameworks like GRESB under its own entity
How JV assets differ from standard assets
Standard asset | JV asset | |
Ownership | Single fund, 100% | Multiple funds, split % |
Appears in | One portfolio | Two or more portfolios |
Consumption reporting | Full values once | (Full) values in each portfolio |
Important
The workflow described in this guide involves manually duplicating assets across portfolios. This creates a risk of inconsistency between portfolio instances if not managed carefully. Scaler will release a dedicated multi-portfolio asset feature that will allow a single asset to be linked across multiple portfolios natively, with a single source of truth. When that feature is available, clients will be guided through a migration.
Identify which scenario applies
Before setting anything up in Scaler, confirm which scenario applies per asset. The scenario determines both how the asset is configured and how data should be entered.
Scenario | Description | Example |
Scenario A: Partial floor area ownership | Entity owns only a specific portion of the asset's floor area and full financial stake for that specific area | Fund A owns floors 1-3, Fund B owns floors 4-6 |
Scenario B: Shared financial stake (full asset) | Entity owns the entire asset jointly but holds only a partial financial stake | Fund A holds 40%, Fund B holds 60% of the whole asset |
Scenario A: Partial floor area ownership
Step 1: Create a separate asset entry per portfolio
Each portfolio creates its own asset record covering only its owned portion of the asset.
- Create the asset in each portfolio independently
- Set the GFA and GAV to reflect only the owned portion
Step 2: Set ownership percentage
In the Reporting Data section, set Percent of ownership to 100% for each instance. Each portfolio is treated as fully owning its specific portion.
Step 3: Configure meters and consumption
Meter setup depends on whether sub-metered data is available for the owned portion.
- If sub-metered data is available: Meters map directly to the owned floor area. Configure only the meters covering that specific portion. No manual calculation is needed.
- If no sub-metering exists (whole-building meters only): The client does not have isolated consumption data for their portion. In this case:
- Configure the whole-building meter to the asset instance
- Enter the scaled consumption value representing the owned share (e.g. if Fund A owns floors 1-3 out of 6 identical floors, enter 50% of total consumption)
- If
Covered areaof the meter(s) is left blank, it defaults to the total area defined under the asset's Reporting Data -- make sure this reflects only the owned portion - (Optional) Use the Comment field to document the methodology applied for scaling
Refer to Setting up physical meters before configuring meters.
Step 4: Add certifications, assessments, measures, and roadmap measures
Add Certifications, Risk Assessments, Building Measures, and Roadmap Measures relevant to the owned portion only. These do not need to be replicated across portfolios, since each portfolio reports a distinct physical area.
Scenario B: Shared financial stake (full asset)
Step 1: Create a separate asset entry per portfolio
The same physical asset must be created as an independent record in each portfolio that holds a stake.
- Create the asset in each portfolio independently
- Ensure asset details, total floor area, and all other relevant data remain consistent across all instances
Tip: You can set up all data in one portfolio first, then export it via the Scaler Spreadsheet and upload it to the other portfolio to ensure full consistency. Make sure to adjust the Percent of ownership field to reflect the correct share for each portfolio.
Refer to How to use the Scaler Spreadsheet (bulk upload) before exporting or uploading.
Step 2: Set ownership percentage per portfolio
In the Reporting Data section of each asset, set Percent of ownership to reflect that portfolio's actual financial stake. For example:
- Fund A instance: 40%
- Fund B instance: 60%
Warning: Percent of ownership is the most critical field for JV assets and a mandatory requirement for GRESB. This field must be completed on every portfolio instance.
Step 3: Configure meters and consumption consistently across portfolios
Meters must be set up identically on each asset instance. Inconsistencies in meter type, area type, or subcategory between records will produce divergent outputs.
- Replicate the same meter structure on each asset instance
- Use the same area types and subcategories across all portfolio records
Step 4: Add certifications, assessments, measures, and roadmap measures
Add Certifications, Risk Assessments, Building Measures, and Roadmap Measures to each portfolio where the JV asset is included.
GRESB reporting implications
Scenario A: Partial floor area ownership
Each fund reports only the portion of the asset it physically owns.
Section / Data field | What to enter |
Consumption (energy, water, waste, GHG) | Values for the owned floor area only |
GFA | Owned floor area only |
GAV | Proportional to owned area |
Percent of ownership | 100% |
GRESB treats each fund's portion as a standalone asset. No scaling is applied.
Scenario B: Shared financial stake (full asset)
Each fund reports the full asset and GRESB applies the ownership percentage to scale values at aggregation.
Section / Data field | What to enter |
Consumption (energy, water, waste, GHG) | 100% of the asset's actual total values |
GFA | Full GFA of the entire asset |
GAV | Full GAV of the entire asset |
Percent of ownership | The fund's actual stake (e.g. 40% or 60%) |
Warning: Do not manually pro-rate consumption figures. GRESB automatically scales all values using Percent of ownership when aggregating to the portfolio level. Entering pre-scaled values will result in double-discounting and incorrect output.
Sub-metered exception
This exception only applies in Scenario B when a fund has dedicated meters that physically measure consumption for its specific stake in the building, rather than the whole building.
In that case, the data has already been isolated at source. Entering it as-is with Percent of ownership set to 100% is correct. Do not apply the ownership percentage on top of already-isolated data or GRESB will scale it down a second time.
The simple test:
- Meter covers the whole building → enter 100% of values, set actual
Percent of ownership(standard Scenario B)
- Meter covers only the fund's portion → enter only that portion's values, set
Percent of ownershipto 100% (sub-metered exception):
Data field | What to enter |
Consumption | Only the sub-metered portion |
GFA / GAV | Owned portion only |
Percent of ownership | 100% |
Troubleshooting & common mistakes
- Ownership percentage set incorrectly in Scenario B -- Each portfolio instance must reflect its own financial stake, not 100%. Set
Percent of ownershipto the actual share per portfolio (e.g. 40%, 60%).
- Consumption manually pro-rated in Scenario B -- Do not scale down consumption before entering it. Enter full asset values and let GRESB apply the ownership percentage automatically.
- Meter structure inconsistent across portfolio instances -- If meter type, area type, or subcategory differs between portfolio records, outputs will diverge. Replicate the same structure on every instance.
- Covered area not set for whole-building meters in Scenario A -- If
Covered areais left blank, it defaults to the total asset area. Verify this reflects only the owned portion to avoid over-reporting.
- Asset details inconsistent across portfolios in Scenario B -- Total floor area, GFA, GAV, and meter data must be identical across all instances. Use the Scaler Spreadsheet export/upload workflow to maintain consistency.