Channel Nine sells Willoughby studios for $147.5m

Nine Entertainment has sold a significant slice of Australian TV history to a Hong Kong developer.

The network will hand over its Willoughby studio in Sydney – the site of the country’s first ever TV broadcast in 1956 – within five years, after Euro Properties bought it for $147.5 million.

The sale is expected to be finalised within two years, with Nine to then lease the site for a further three years before relocating to a new site.

The land on which the studio sits, at 6-30 Artarmon Rd, has approval for up to 400 residential units in five apartment buildings, spanning between four and eight levels each.

An artist’s impression of the proposed apartments at Nine’s Willoughby studios

CBRE’s Matt Ramsay, Scott Gray-Spencer and Ben Wicks managed the international expressions of interest campaign, and Ramsay says they received 17 bids from developers both at home and abroad.

“Buyers were attracted by the site’s location, the concept plan approval and the covenant Nine provides for the next five years,” Ramsay says.

“Sydney’s lower north shore residential market has been undersupplied for some time and this site provides a key opportunity to deliver a project of significant scale in a highly desirable location.”

Nine Entertainment chief operating officer and chief financial officer Simon Kelly says the sale will free up money for the company to pursue other “strategic opportunities”.

“The move from the birthplace of Australian free-to-air television is a significant milestone for Nine,” Kelly says.

“Our relocation to state of the art facilities will enable us to further optimise our operations as we evolve our business model in a digital world.”

The sale comes after an expression of interest campaign, run by CBRE, wrapped up on May 12, with the deal still subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.