Stockland reaps $80m for Port Adelaide distribution centre
Diversified property giant Stockland is preparing to offload the Port Adelaide Distribution Centre, with Quintessential Equity favoured to pick up the asset for about $80 million.
Stockland has owned and managed the industrial precinct for about 20 years and boosted its performance by undertaking significant improvements giving it high occupancy levels.
But it now wants to exit and pour capital back into its industrial development pipeline, including new sites adjacent to its residential estates.
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Stockland is making some of the largest disposals of the year and is separately advancing plans to sell its half-interest in Sydney’s $700m 135 King Street and Glasshouse complex.
The company is also trying to find a capital partner for its retirement unit with the aid of investment banks Evans Dixon and Morgan Stanley.
But Stockland is also acquiring where it can and may move to take full control of Sydney’s Piccadilly Centre if its rights are triggered by Oxford Properties Group’s sale of a half stake in the building.
Meanwhile, the Port Adelaide facility occupies a substantial 32ha landholding and comprises 12 freestanding industrial buildings with a gross lettable area of about 167,500sqm.
The estate is one of Adelaide’s largest portside industrial parks and is at the confluence of major heavy rail, highway and shipping infrastructure.
The facility, which is at Gillman, 12km from the Adelaide CBD, fits well with Quintessential’s mandate of buying income-producing properties.
The property group has been active in South Australia. In December last year it bought an Adelaide building from property tycoon Con Makris as he reshuffles his holdings in the city.
The group picked up 431 King William St at the southern gateway to the CBD as the first asset in its $112 million Master Fund.
It is not known how the firm will handle the latest purchase as both parties declined to comment.
Quintessential has been an active property trader this year. It sold an office block in Canberra to Sydney-based Marprop and is selling nearby 10 Moore St. That 6709sqm building has Optus as a major tenant.
The company recently refurbished the six-level commercial office building into a modern, efficient facility and it is now fully leased and spins off an income of 4.52 years.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
