KordaMentha buys up Exhibition St building
Advisory and investment group KordaMentha has bought a Melbourne office building and plans to launch a fund for retail investors to take a stake, through its property funds management business Placer Property.
Placer Property bought six floors of office space at 333 Exhibition St in Melbourne for $37.5 million.
The 6528sqm of space is part of a mixed-use development including a hotel and carpark that were not part of the deal.
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The group will launch its 333 Exhibition Street Property Fund early next year under the ownership of KordaMentha Real Estate, which acquired Placer Property in August.
“The opportunities for retail investors to buy into direct commercial CBD assets are almost non-existent, so we are expecting a strong level of interest from investors when the fund opens in early 2018,” Placer Property joint managing director Mario Papaleo says.
“We were attracted to the asset due to its strategic location with uninterrupted views of the World Heritage listed Carlton Gardens and its very secure, stable income flowing from the sole tenant, The University of Melbourne.
“Melbourne’s CBD is undergoing significant change with new world-class developments and infrastructure underpinning future tenant and investor demand for quality office accommodation and investments.”
JLL’s Alex McColl, Langton McHarg and Paul Kempton were agents on the deal.
We were attracted to the asset due to its strategic location with uninterrupted views of the World Heritage listed Carlton Gardens and its very secure, stable income
KordaMentha Real Estate partner Tom Davis says Placer rounds out the group’s investment offering so it can now offer both institutional and retail real estate investment vehicles.
“Equally, they can tap into the expertise of our specialist real estate group to help them identify, secure and manage real estate assets to deliver stronger returns to their investors,” Davis says.
KordaMentha is known for its restructuring arm’s work including as voluntary administrators of iron ore and steel business Arrium, which was eventually sold to British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
