This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
SINGAPORE’S sovereign wealth fund GIC, Frasers Property and JustCo have invested US$177 million to develop a co-working platform across Asia and Australia. At the same time, the fund has snapped up an office development opportunity in Brisbane.
JustCo is co-working space provider with a presence in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The US$177 million investment will enable JustCo to build on its presence in Southeast Asia and expand into other Asian markets such as Greater China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia and India.
GIC chief investment officer Lee Kok Sun said the co-working movement embraces the flexibility of the sharing economy and is fast changing the way office space is designed, leased, used and operated.
“As a long-term value investor, we are attracted by the sector’s growth potential in the long run and believe that the fragmented nature of the sector presents opportunities for consolidation. Our investment in JustCo will support it in its next phase of growth outside of Singapore, as it continues to engage with entrepreneurs and enterprises across Asia. Our partnership with JustCo and Frasers Property will enable us to capitalise on shared synergies and leverage one another’s strengths such as operational expertise, space from existing office portfolios, local market knowledge and networks,” Lee said.
Frasers Property CEO Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi said the partnership will tap on the international scale of FPL and GIC, to accelerate the expansion of JustCo’s network.
JustCo CEO and founder Kong Wan Sing said this round of investment will help the company enhance and redefine the flexible workspace experience through multi-geographical footprints.
At the same time, GIC through Charter Hall has acquired an office building located at 343 Albert St in Brisbane for $108 million, on a yield of 6.75%.
It is currently improved by a 25-storey 20,000 sqm building. In August last year, the vendors, Morris Property Group and Amalgamated Property Group submitted a proposal to demolish the existing Suncorp Plaza to make way for a new 30-storey 49,684 sqm commercial office building with ground floor retail, as well as three basement levels of car parking for 165 vehicles.
The new Brisbane development could see the inclusion of JustCo as a tenant as the Singapore-based company looks to expand its presence in Australia.
This is the second major commercial sale in Brisbane this week after Dexus paid $91.2 million for the Audi Centre and The EuroMarque Complex in the Fortitude Valley.
This property was also sold as a development potential of up to 20 levels, the 7,123 sqm site at 570-586 Wickham St.
Australian Property Journal
