Singapore-based Frasers Property Acquires 2 Sydney Office Towers
AUSTRALIA – Frasers Property’s Australian division has agreed to buy two adjacent office properties within Sydney’s Olympic Park for a total of A$160.5 million (US$106.2 million), which translates to A$5.96 psf based on the commercial properties’ overall net leasable area (NLA), reported Mingtiandi on Monday evening (21 November, SGT).
The pair of office buildings – 1A and 1C Homebush Bay Drive in Rhodes – is being sold by Dexus Industria REIT at a 15 percent discount to the office assets’ prevailing combined book value of A$189 million.
Colliers Australia’s Head of office capital markets Adam Woodward, who negotiated the office transaction that is poised to be completed next week, revealed that the acquisition will add 269,614 sq ft of office space and car park premises to Singapore-headquartered Frasers Property’s real estate portfolio in the country.
Situated west of Sydney’s central business district (CBD), 1A Homebush Bay Drive is a 6-storey office property with basement parking that can accommodate 339 vehicles. Completed in 2007, its major tenant is Booktopia, an online bookstore. As of the end of June, the commercial property was just 19 percent occupied and it had a book value of A$102 million. Its average term to lease expiry is only 1.5 years
As for neighbouring 1C Homebush Bay Drive, the 5-storey office building has an occupancy rate of 93 percent, with Frasers Australia and DHL leasing most of the 112,009 sq ft commercial property. It has a book value of A$87 million and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 2.1 years. The asset is 20 years old and has a 5-star NABERS rating.
In October 2022, Frasers Australia and joint venture partner Dexus received approval from the state government of New South Wales (NSW) to build a 1.4 million sq ft commercial property worth A$3 billion in the southern part of Sydney’s CBD.
To be called Central Place Sydney, the development will consist of two office towers with a height of 35 and 37 storeys fronted by an eight-storey block. Construction work is anticipated to start by 2023, with Phase I expected to be ready in 2027.
Furthermore, Frasers Australia’s Executive General Manager Ian Barter revealed that they target to double their A$5.5 billion local real estate portfolio over the next 4 to 5 years.
