Queensland
SOUTH BRISBANE - $104 million
Marquette Properties has acquired 189 Grey Street from Mirvac, who had held the office asset within their portfolio for 17 years. The site is one of only seven office buildings in Brisbane’s Southbank, one of the city’s most tightly held markets for office space. CBRE’s Tom Phipps explained that Marquette had repeatedly enquired about purchasing the property, targeting it as they believed Mirvac would be willing to divest the property as it is smaller than their investment mandate has seemed to indicate recently. “With very little REIT, wholesale or offshore direct capital currently active we are seeing syndicators, club investors and privates taking advantage of the current market volatility to secure quality assets that larger institutions deem too small or non-core,” Mr. Phipps commented.
ACT
SYMONSTON - $363.5 million
In a Deals of the Week post from June, we reported that the Geoscience Australia headquarters in Canberra’s Symonston had been reportedly purchased by Charter Hall. This week, the property investment management company officially announced the acquisition, confirming a sales figure of $363.5 million, which represents a record for a commercial property sale in the ACT. The property was sold by German investment manager Real IS, who acquired the site back in 2006, and contains a specialised life sciences complex featuring 32,659 sqm in net lettable area across three separate buildings that include offices, specialised laboratory and storage, warehousing, childcare facilities and parking for 652 vehicles.
The sale was brokered by Colliers’ Paul Powderly, Matthew Winter, Adam Woodward and James Mitchell, in conjunction with JLL’s Tim Mutton, Luke Billiau and James Barber.
New Zealand
AUCKLAND – NZ$170 million
JLL has helped manage the sale of the Stamford Plaza Auckland, the largest ever single hotel asset in the country’s history. The property was acquired by a consortium consisting of the CP Group, the biggest hotel owner in New Zealand, in association with global investment firm Alvarium Investments and Archipelago Capital. JLL’s Nick Thompson helped finalise the deal, and he believes that this transaction is demonstrative of the New Zealand hotel market’s recent resurgence.
“The hotel market is trending upwards following two years of uncertainty, and that movement is indicative of the strength of the market,” Mr. Thompson stated. “Hotel investors tend to take a longer-term approach to asset transactions, so hotels hold up when headwinds impact other real estate sectors. The sale of the Stamford Plaza is a record sale for a single hotel asset in New Zealand, pointing to the resilience of the hotel market complemented by continued interest from international investors over the past 30 months.”
Tasmania
LAUNCESTON - $22.53 million
1 Civic Square, referred to as Henty House, has been offloaded by the Sydney-based Strada Group, who have held the asset for more than 15 years. Acquiring it is a Melbourne-based syndicator, who were attracted to the site’s secure tenancies; the five-storey building was built specifically for the Tasmanian government in the 1980s, and is currently occupied by both state and federal government branches. Comprised of 4,678 sqm of net lettable area, the property produces over $1.523 million in annual income.
CBRE’s Tom Ryan and Scott Orchard, in conjunction with Tim Johnstone and Scott Alexander of Edwards Windsor, were responsible for negotiating the deal. Commenting on the sale, Mr. Orchard explained that sales in “alternative markets” had picked up momentum. “While sales results have been limited through the middle part of the year as a market adjustment plays out, there is still considerable local, national and international capital looking for opportunities in prime and alternative markets, as demonstrated by the sale of Henty House.”
Victoria
MORNINGTON - $2.1 million
In the latest deal signalling the Mornington Peninsula’s popularity with commercial property investors, a 135 sqm ground-floor shop at 127 Main Street has sold for $2.1 million, on a high building rate of $15,555 per sqm. The site has a wide frontage of over seven metres, and is leased to national operator Taking Shape on a recently signed 50 year lease that returns $100,775 per annum. Surrounded by a plethora of national and local traders, including Coles, Woolworths, Country Road and Cotton On, 127 Main Street is ideally situated to take advantage of high levels of foot traffic.
“Main Street [in] Mornington has become widely recognised as a thriving coastal precinct that has outperformed many of its peers across the Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne in recent years,” explained Fitzroys’ Tom Fisher, who sold the landholding alongside colleague David Bourke. “Its minimal vacancies, quality mix of national and local tenants, and the surging coastal residential catchment has created a huge spike in interest from investors both locally and across the country.”
BAYSWATER – Undisclosed
The multidisciplinary property advisory and investment arm of KordaMentha, KordaMentha Real Estate (KMRE), have acquired six warehouse units in one line in Bayswater, at 1-6/843 Mountain Highway. The property provides for six separately strata-titled units that possess 1,521 sqm in lettable area, with a passing income of approximately $294,000. “We were attracted to the investment to the great location, main road frontage, replacement cost of the units and the fact they are already separetly strata-titled, offering greater flexibility and risk-adjusted returns for our investors,” stated KMRE’s Director, Tom Korda.
New South Wales
MIRANDA - $68 million
The Coles-anchored Lederer Shopping Centre in Miranda, situated on a 4,600 sqm site at 4-6 Wandella Road, has been sold by IP Generation to Woolworths. The Coles outlet at the property takes up 3,300 sqm of the property, with the remaining retail space leased by over a dozen specialty stores. The sale of the site is of particular note given IP Generation only purchased the property off of Lederer Group mid-2021; for the quick turnaround, the Melbourne-based fund manager and developer has reportedly secured a capital gain of over 100 per cent. JLL’s Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher were the agents responsible for the sale. “Despite current market conditions, there remains a growing weight of capital looking to acquire these assets, in particular those that are grocery anchored and/or provide future mixed-use potential, explained Mr. Willis.
GOSFORD – Undisclosed
Paul Lederer has sold the 1.42-hectare site formerly known as the Kibbleplex Shopping Centre in New South Wales’ Gosford. Listed back in March of 2022, the 14,192 sqm property at 136-148 Donnison Street was presented to the market as permit-ready for a mixed-use project. Colliers’ Jon Chomley and Eugene White facilitated the sale of the property to Raj and Jai Construction, one of western Sydney’s most prominent construction companies. “Located in a costal location and only an hour from [the] Sydney CBD, Gosford has been the beneficiary of the sea change movement from Sydney, with an uplift in new residents over the last two years,” explained Mr. White.
MITTAGONG – Undisclosed
The Highlands Hotel in the Southern Highlands’ Mittagong has been offloaded to an unnamed purchaser who reportedly intends to renovate the hotel. The three-storey building stands atop a significant 1,461 sqm land parcel, and features a public bar, lounge seating, bistro, commercial kitchen, freestanding cottage and a cocktail bar. Leonard Bongiovanni of Manenti Quinlan & Associates managed the sales process, and reflected on the status of the local region’s market subsequent to the sale. “Interest in the Southern Highlands is at an all-time high, creating the opportunity for hoteliers to capitalise on the growing popularity,” Mr. Bongiovanni commented.
