Pindan joins Asian influx with $160m St Leonard’s buy
West Australian-based Pindan Capital is looking to join the ranks of the Asian developers that have poured millions into buying up properties on Sydney’s north shore that they plan to transform into apartments, office towers and hotels over the next decade.
The developer and funds manager is behind a major acquisition that would see it buy up a massive site in St Leonards from property syndicator Australasian Property Investments and investment house Wingate Group for more than $160 million.
Singaporean property giant Oxley Holdings last December snapped up a 40% stake in Perth-based Pindan and the project may fit its interests.
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Last year the Singaporean company made a $40 million commitment to the Pindan Capital property fund and confirmed its interest in Sydney’s Bays Precinct in the inner west. But Pindan works with a number of backers and no decisions have been made. The company’s $1 billion development pipeline has the support of groups including Singaporean developer Roxy-Pacific Holdings, the superannuation fund-backed ISPT and locally listed AVJennings.
While the purchase of a single office building in one of Sydney’s more affluent areas may pass almost unnoticed, the deal is one of the largest markers after a rash of purchases by Chinese-backed groups that are transforming the area.
Over the past year, names like China’s Yuhu Group and Aqualand have dominated buying in areas ranging from North Sydney to Macquarie Park, with the Chinese-owned John Holland Group also rumoured to be pursuing a $90 million site in the latter district.
The buying pool is diverse, with Hong Kong-based groups China Overseas Holdings up against the likes of Sydney-based Lotus Group and Melbourne’s Golden Age, both of which sport mainland support, for fresh development sites.
The new batch of buyers are marked out by their willingness to price deals aggressively, negotiating with fewer conditions than local developers, and their ability to quickly settle in cash.
They have also been willing to buy properties from long-term owners, including wealthy private owners including the Magid family and the Wolanski-backed Denwol Group, both of which are developers in their own right.
The Pindan transaction, being handled by Matthew Dunn of Savills, who was unavailable for comment, is yet to be finalised but would see another mixed use development In the burgeoning area.
The site it is buying has been master-planned, with the assistance of local developer Toga, and a new project, including offices and serviced apartments worth hundreds of millions could be developed.
The St Leonards site was last sold by a Charter Hall fund three years ago for $96.4 million.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
