QIC to reap $300m from Queensland government tower
QIC Global Real Estate is poised to bring a $300 million Mary St tower occupied by the Queensland government to market. It will be one of the largest buildings offered in Brisbane this year.
The A-grade tower at 61 Mary St carries a weighted average lease expiry of more than 10 years. It is tipped to appeal to offshore and domestic institutions.
The Brisbane market has drawn buyers including EG Funds Management, Goldman Sachs and Charter Hall, and Britain’s M&G Real Estate.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
The 17-level complex in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD is being offered by Knight Frank’s Justin Bond, Ben McGrath and Neil Brookes, and CBRE’s Tom Phipps, Bruce Baker and Flint Davidson, on behalf of QIC.
The 28,749sqm tower was one of the main elements of a $562 million government portfolio that QIC bought in 2013. It included seven buildings, some of which have been since sold.
The building has undergone a $44 million refurbishment and has one of the largest floor plates available in the CBD at 1525-2030sqm.
Bond says the tower, fully occupied by the state government under a lease until 2029, was also close to the Queens Wharf precinct and proposed Cross River Rail project.
“The injection of capital for these major CBD infrastructure projects by the state government and private sector will only reinforce the long-term investment credentials of the property,” Bond says.
“While strong domestic interest continues for Brisbane, throughout 2018 we have also witnessed increasing investor demand from Asia, Europe and the US, with limited availability in the market for CBD assets offering long-term secure income. We continue to expect further compression of capitalisation rates for secure, well-located investments.”
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
