Mirvac and Dexus fire up prime Melbourne office sales

Mirvac has added 367 Collins St to its $1.3bn asset sales campaign.

Melbourne’s office market has sparked up with major sales with both Mirvac and Dexus looking to unload key buildings.

Mirvac has added 367 Collins St to its $1.3bn asset sales campaign, tapping real estate agencies CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield, to handle the $430m offering. The prized Collins St building is considered likely to sell in what is a tough environment for larger stock, given its unique position and strong tenancy profile.

Refurbished in 2018, 367 Collins St is in the centre of the Melbourne CBD. Lobby and retail upgrades have added to its amenity and the tower has views of the Yarra River.

The A-grade building spans 37,809sq m and has 196 car spaces. It last traded when Mirvac bought it for $228m in 2013 and is held on a capitalisation rate of 5.25 per cent.

Meanwhile, Dexus is receiving interest in 8 Nicholson St, with bidding for the 18 level, A-grade office tower on the eastern edge of Melbourne’s CBD.

Dexus chief executive Darren Steinberg has publicly said the company has received strong interest in top quality assets around the country but has declined to comment on asset disposals.

The A-grade tower was built in 1991 and is held at $244m on a market cap rate of 4.75 per cent. The building is fully leased to the Victorian government and carries a weighted lease term by income of 6.4 years.

It sits in a government precinct adjoining the Victorian parliament, with access to a number of cultural amenities and Carlton, parliament and Fitzroy Gardens.

Superannuation fund REST is also selling 717 Bourke St in the Melbourne CBD with the building near Southern Cross Station garnering interest. The 17-storey, 43,200sq m building had a price guide of $490m-plus and houses tenants including Nine Entertainment, BP, NEC and AIG. It is being handled by Cushman & Wakefield and Knight Frank.