Hong Kong group nabs major Sydney tower
Hong Kong-based K Wah has joined the array of Asian buyers that have snapped up Sydney towers and has just struck a deal to buy a building from funds giant TH Real Estate for about $192 million.
The purchase of 20 Hunter St was undertaken by the private side of the broader K Wah operation and represents the group’s entry into Australia after it made a number of bids for local office assets. K Wah Group has more than 50 years’ experience in the property industry and has operations in Hong Kong, mainland China, Southeast Asia and North America.
Its portfolio includes residential developments, luxury homes, office towers, arcades, serviced apartments and hotels, and it could make a wider move into Australian property once its first purchase is bedded down.
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Inc RE’s Josh Cullen and Rick Butler and Colliers International’s Adam Woodward, James Barber and James Girvan brokered the sale of the 16-level A-grade tower but they and the parties declined to comment.
TH Real Estate made a handy return on the sale of the office block in Hunter Street in central Sydney, marking its entry into Australia four years ago. The group, then operating as TIAA-CREF Real Estate, picked up the complex for $96m in October 2013 from Hong Kong-based CLSA Capital Partners in one of its first steps in developing its Asia-Pacific property strategy.
Sydney’s office building at 20 Hunter St has been bought by Hong Kong’s K Wah.
The Hunter Street property comprises 9894sqm of prime office space and includes ground-floor retail and basement parking. Key tenants include Swaab, Napier & Blakeley, CLSA and Alceon, and the property is well positioned to benefit from the surge in rents at the top end of the Sydney market.
Local fund manager CorVal Partners is selling the tower at 9 Hunter St to an Asian group advised by Ashe Morgan Winthrop for about $200 million.
One of China’s largest toy manufacturers, Hong Kong billionaire Francis Choi is also targeting the purchase of a tower from US private equity firm Blackstone, which could sell for more than $200 million. Choi has already put his stamp on the Sydney office market, snapping up the Exchange Centre in Bridge Street from Malaysia’s KWAP in April for $335 million.
Blackstone tapped Michael Andrews, James Parry and Sharon Yang of CBRE and James Quigley and Paul Fernandes of Cushman & Wakefield to sell the Castlereagh Street property.
The impending sale of the 22-level building, bought from Mirvac as part of a portfolio three years ago, and of the TH Real Estate and CorVal assets represents a strong result and leaves a host of underbidders chasing assets across Sydney.
TH Real Estate’s remaining assets includes a half-stake in 101 Miller St and the Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney, interests in 699 Bourke St and Myer Bourke St in Melbourne, and Mount Ommaney Shopping Centre in Queensland.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
