Cromwell Property Group has sold its head office building in Brisbane’s CBD to investment house Wingate for $108.5 million, representing an 8.1% premium to book value. 

The 20-storey office was located at 200 Mary Street within the CBD’s golden triangle.  

Cromwell has refurbished and modernised the quality B-grade building since acquiring it from AMP in 2001 and will remain in the building until March 2024. 

The sale is part of Cromwell’s strategy to sell non-core assets, as it transitions to a capital light funds management business in the future, and progressively launches new funds.  

“This sale further demonstrates Cromwell’s proven approach to active portfolio and asset management,” Cromwell’s Chief Investment Officer Rob Percy said. 

“We have created significant value through repositioning the asset and, with high-quality tenants and long-term leases in place, now is the right time to capture significant upside and unlock the value Cromwell has achieved.” 

Cromwell recently completed the sale of the Village Cinema Centre in Geelong for $19.775 million and the exchange of contracts on the TGA Complex in Symonston, which was expected to settle at the end of June 2022. 

It’s the latest office deal in Brisbane, following Southern Cross Group’s purchase of a recently-built office building in Eight Mile Plains from Alceon for $19.735 million earlier this week. 

Earlier this month, Alex Gow Funerals sold its headquarters in Newstead to a Brisbane-based group for $14.3 million, with plans to redevelop the site for office use in the future.   

In February, Canadian pension investment manager PSP Investments and Charter Hall Group acquired an office development under construction in Fortitude Valley, while Marquette Properties bought the Blue Tower office building in Brisbane’s CBD from Dexus in a $420 million deal. 

Office market deals reached $3.4 billion across Australia during the first quarter of 2022, down 18% on the same period a year ago, but there were some encouraging signs with contracts exchanged on several significant acquisitions, according to Real Capital Analytics. 

Over the 12 months to end-March 2022, office transactions reach $24.8 billion, up 63% year-on-year.