Primewest spends $86m buying major Perth tower
Perth’s office market is starting the year strongly with Primewest finalising a deal to buy an office building from private equity group Blackstone for $86 million.
The group will place the tower, known as ENI House, into a new syndicate as investors bet that the upswing in Perth’s office market will continue.
The seven-level, A-grade office building at 226 Adelaide Terrace in Perth’s eastern CBD precinct is fully leased to the federal government and companies including Wood & Grieve Engineers and ENI Australia.
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Blackstone picked up the tower as part of the South Australian MAC portfolio several years ago. CBRE’s Aaron Desange and Flint Davidson and JLL’s John Williams and Sean Flynn brokered the latest sale.
Desange says the campaign ignited significant interest from offshore and domestic investors attracted to the counter-cyclical nature of the asset.
He predicts the depth of demand for Perth assets will drive more than $1 billion worth of office transactions this year.
Williams says Western Australia will continue to be a preferred destination for offshore investment this year, with several Asia-Pacific capital cities close to approaching their peak in the cycle.
“This bodes well for the Perth investment sector, as buyers are increasingly looking for acquisitions in a market anticipated to be about to move into a new growth cycle,” he says.
Asian investors have dominated action at the value-add end of Perth’s market and have been more aggressive than most local buyers.
Primewest has been active in Perth and advised GIC on its $326 million purchase of the city’s Exchange Tower.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
