Malaysian fund floats $200m Bourke St office tower
Malaysian pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan is looking to cash in on Melbourne’s emergence as a hot investment destination by bringing a tower worth about $200 million to market.
The group will put 737 Bourke St, which was acquired in 2010 for $113 million, as it continues to sell down its Australian holdings.
The group last year sold the Exchange Centre in Sydney’s Bridge St to Hong Kong billionaire Francis Choi in a $335 million deal.
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The Malaysian fund, known as KWAP, has tapped Nick Rathgeber and Leigh Melbourne of JLL to market the property.
The group could be set for another windfall as it invested early in the property cycle. It bought the Sydney asset for $185 million in 2011 and re-signed the Australian Securities Exchange as a tenant despite an attempt by Lendlease to lure the tenant to Barangaroo South.
The 18,500sqm asset in Melbourne’s Bourke St is a modern 10-level, high-quality, A-grade office building in the heart of the business sector of Docklands.
It has refurbished floors and an impressive 4.5-star NABERS Energy rating.
The building, that sports an on-site cafe and restaurant, abundance of secure parking, dedicated onsite building management and end-of-trip facilities, sits next to Southern Cross Train Station.
Major tenants include Lion, the Victorian Building Authority and Opteon Property Group. The fund, which is advised by Investa Property Group, also holds an office tower in Turbot St, Brisbane, which it bought for $172 million from the Morris Property Group.
Elsewhere in Melbourne, property developer John Beville is hoping to almost double his money on an office block that has hit the market with price expectations of about $160 million. Beville’s private vehicle bought the tower at 509 St Kilda Rd for $84 million less than four years ago.
Several other offices have changed hands on the boulevard, with Abacus Property and Wing Tai Holdings snapping up VACC House for $95 million and Tong Eng Group buying a $77 million tower from the Myer family.
Dexus this month also bought 60 Collins St from the RBA for $160 million, as well as a $70 million adjoining property at 52 Collins St, as it looks to build a new $650 million tower.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
