Singapore-listed Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust has bought an office building in Melbourne’s southeast for $60.25 million.
The five-storey, A-grade office building was located at 545 Blackburn Road in Mount Waverley – about 16 kilometres southeast of the Melbourne CBD.
The property comprised 7,297 sqm of net lettable area and was fully leased to nine tenants with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of approximately five years.
“The acquisition is aligned with our strategy to pursue strategic opportunities which provides attractive yields and enables us to leverage our management expertise in Australia,” said Robert Wallace, Chief Executive Officer of the REIT Manager.
“With the property being 100% leased to reputable tenants in diverse industries, the acquisition is expected to further enhance FLCT’s quality tenant mix and portfolio metrics, while providing unitholders with a stable income stream.”
The office was sold by the building’s developers, a small syndicate that included founding members of carsales.com.
The CEO of the vendor syndicate Lee Mayberry said it had been a nine-year journey of planning and development to bring their vision to fruition.
“We had long-term hold intentions for the asset, which is why it was built to such a high-quality specification,” Mayberry said.
“Our patience enabled us to put together an equally high-quality tenancy profile, with the building attracting occupiers mostly from the local area.
“However, a number of factors aligned making it more suitable for a passive owner over the next period of the asset’s life.”
CBRE’s Capital Markets Office team of Scott Orchard and Tom Ryan negotiated the sale on behalf of the vendors.
Orchard said the strong result had set a new benchmark for the suburban market for an existing multi-tenanted office investment.
“Despite the rising cost of debt there is still motivated capital that is aggressively pursuing quality investments with the right location, improvement and tenant profile story,” he said.
Ryan said the property generated broad local, interstate and international buyer interest, with the trust securing the property after a competitive second round of offers.
“We took an aggressive position with the asset from a price potential perspective believing that the property matched other opportunities of this quality and price point in Melbourne’s city fringe market,” Ryan said.
The sale is the latest suburban office deal in Melbourne, following Garda Property Group’s purchase of an office in Hawthorn East for $20.1 million last week.
In March, Growthpoint Properties purchased a modern office in Hawthorn East for $125 million, while Harbour Group divested an office building in Burwood East for $13 million in February.
Earlier this year, Singapore-listed Straits Trading Company bought two office buildings in Docklands for $150 million, while Hong Kong-listed Link REIT entered into a $596 million deal with Oxford Properties to invest in an office portfolio including the 567 Collins Street building in Melbourne.
Rathdrum Properties also bought the eight-level office building at 570 St Kilda Road from Terraplex for $67.6 million, while Irongate Group acquired a stake in a grade-A office building in Cremorne for $130 million.
