Abacus Property spends $311m on North Sydney office tower
The listed Abacus Property Group has quickly found a use for funds it had set aside for its now thwarted takeover play for the Australian Unity Office Fund.
The company has snapped up a North Sydney office building being sold off by the Oxford Investa Property Partnership for $311.3 million.
The sale of 99 Walker St, the final asset in the Oxford-Investa portfolio, would conclude one of the largest such plays in Australia as it would have shifted about $3.2 billion of assets.
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The Canadian group took the $4.4 billion IOF portfolio private last year and has since sold off the properties at a premium, with its sales of individual buildings seeing it profit from its last-minute play for the trust that trumped a move by US private equity group Blackstone.
It again puts on display the strong belief in North Sydney shown by local and offshore groups, with others already set including the private Winten and Dexus that are developing sites.
The price reflects about $16,100 per square metre of net lettable area in keeping with rising prices in the precinct.
Knight Frank’s Tyler Talbot, Graeme Russell, Neil Brookes and Dominic Ong and Cushman & Wakefield’s Josh Cullen, Mark Hansen and Claire Zouroudis brokered the sale.
A series of Asian groups have also invested, with a deal by CBRE Global Investors to buy the Zurich headquarters for about $350 million also sealed last week.
In a series of sales handled by Cushman & Wakefield at a portfolio level, and Knight Frank on 99 Walker Street, Oxford has sold off major towers to back new developments, including two buildings proposed above the planned Pitt Street metro station.
In North Sydney, the Walker Street tower has 21 levels of office space, with sweeping Sydney Harbour views from the upper floors. The 1988 building spans 19,295sq m and is on a 2263sqm site. Major tenants include Jemena, GE Capital and Coles.
Abacus managing director Steven Sewell said the transaction aligned with the company’s strategic priority of acquiring assets in specific locations where there was amenity and infrastructure improvements.
“The acquisition demonstrates our solid progress as Abacus transitions to a strong asset backed, annuity style business model,” he says.
In August, Charter Hall and Abacus teamed to buy a Sydney tower at 201 Elizabeth St overlooking Hyde Park for $630 million.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
