Grollo family property offload heads to $400m
Tycoon Bruno Grollo and his family have been selling down large office assets.
Melbourne’s powerful Grollo clan is set to take its property selldown to around $400m after securing listed company Growthpoint Properties Australia as the preferred buyer on a $160m office block in Melbourne‘s Dandenong.
The famous construction family has been selling assets that were controlled by patriarch Bruno Grollo and other family members who were not caught up in the collapse of the Grocon business.
Grocon fell into the hands of administrator KordaMentha last year owing about $100m, but after striking a deed of company arrangement, Daniel Grollo has bounced back, supporting the expanding Home build-to-rent operation. But his Eureka Tower sub-penthouse, which was taken over by administrators, was also sold last month.
The level 80 residence sported a $10m-$11m price guide with the listing, via Kay & Burton South Yarra chairman Gerald Delany, noting it was being sold under instructions from KordaMentha.
Grocon’s development operations suffered from being undercapitalised after the family split the company a decade ago but the property assets have since soared in value.
Daniel took control of the Grocon operating business including projects like Sydney’s Liberty Place, but the company ran into difficulties as a major deal at harbourside Barangaroo turned sour.
Bruno, Adam and Leeanna took control of projects including one in Footscray in the 2012 split of the empire. The trio came away with a portfolio of property and near completed projects, including a half stake in the QV Centre in Melbourne, and the office development in Dandenong.
In June last year, the Grollo family sold the Footscray building for $224m to a Centuria Capital Group-run fund.
In the Dandenong sale, the Grollo family is selling GSO Dandenong at 165-169 Thomas Street. Paul Kempton and Trent Preece of Knight Frank are handling the sale but declined to comment.
The A-Grade office building spans a net lettable area of 15,070sq m on a large 2,502sq m site, and was built by Grocon for the Victorian government in 2011.
Growthpoint was drawn to the asset by its long lease of ten years by income, with the Victorian government in place until 2032, with a strong probability of renewal.
Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast is benefiting from a revitalisation project for the area, with $2bn of private and government investment.
Growthpoint targets suburban office buildings and has come through the pandemic as tenants turn to offices close to home, with its industrial portfolio also in good shape.
