Ernst & Young considers major Melbourne shift
Ernst & Young’s Melbourne branch has kicked off a process that could see it shift premises out of its long-time home in Exhibition St in the central business district.
The professional services firm could follow its peers into a new tower after issuing a request for proposals to major landlords.
The firm’s plans could either spark a new tower by groups that have bought sites, including Dexus and Mirvac, or see an existing building refitted to accommodate it.
Ernst & Young is currently a major tenant at 8 Exhibition St, the 40-storey building owned by the GPT Wholesale Office Fund and listed Singaporean investor K-REIT.
The pair would be keen to retain Ernst & Young but would probably have to upgrade the existing facilities to keep it.
“Our current Melbourne lease has an expiry of November 2022 and we are currently undertaking a market review to consider long-term options,” an Ernst & Young spokeswoman says. “As part of this review, we have issued an RFP to landlords who are active in the market and have a strong track record of initiating developments if opportunities align.”
CBRE has been tapped to advise Ernst & Young on the services firm’s requirement.
The 44,800sqm building at the “Paris end” of Melbourne’s CBD is one of the city’s most attractive. Ernst & Young occupies about 14,940sqm.
Other accountants have been on the move in Melbourne.
Listed developer Mirvac won Deloitte as anchor tenant in its Olderfleet office project. That 40-level, Grimshaw Architects-designed project at 477 Collins St will be complete in 2020.
Deloitte has committed to more than 22,000sqm of space for 12 years in the project.
Accountants KPMG have moved from the T&G building to Lang Walker’s Collins Square development in Docklands, where the firm took about 27,000sqm.
Another professional services giant, Accenture, agreed to a 10-year lease across two floors at the landmark T&G complex, taking up close to 8000sqm for its Melbourne headquarters.
In 2016, PwC shifted to a new purpose-built office, with its staff going into 11 floors of the 2 Riverside Quay building Mirvac completed in Melbourne’s Southbank.
GWOF and Keppel in 2013 paid $320 million for the Exhibition Street tower above the historic Herald & Weekly Times building.
Keppel later paid more than $8 million for the freehold of the ground-floor restaurants, where chef George Calombaris operated Gazi and The Press Club.
