This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Western Australian retail property market is poised to finish the year strongly after GPT snapped up a 50% stake in two shopping centres from Perron for $482 million, coming hot on the heels of Barings’ large format retail acquisition.
GPT will acquire a 50% interest in Cockburn Gateway and Belmont Forum in Perth.
The two shopping centres offer 119,000 sqm of gross lettable area and a combined Moving Annual Turnover of more than $1 billion. Cockburn Gateway also has development approval to kick start a 20-year transformation project with Stage 1 having the potential for 20,000sqm of incremental retail in the near term.
GPT’s CEO and managing director Russell Proutt said this is an exciting partnership which further expands GPT’s $14 billion retail portfolio with two centres that are top performing in their respective trade areas and extremely well positioned, in catchments with strong population growth and favourable demographics.
“Our investment is consistent with GPT’s strategy to build and diversify the group’s management platform, in alignment with like-minded investment partners. This acquisition will leverage the group’s outstanding retail operational capability to drive asset performance and pursue compelling development opportunities,” he added.
Perron Group CEO Adam Irving said the company was delighted to have successfully concluded negotiations over the sale of the half-share stake in both properties.
“We identified GPT as an ideal partner for both Cockburn Gateway and Belmont Forum because of its industry leading experience in both retail and mixed-use developments, as this will be crucial to maximising the value of the assets over time.
“This transaction also aligns with the evolution of Perron Group’s broader strategic objectives as a permanent endowment to support the work of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation.”
The transaction follows closely from US giant Barings’ acquisition of Joondalup Square as exclusively reported by Australian Property Journal, and the ISPT Retail Australia Property Trust (IRAPT) acquiring the Woolworths Clarkson for $36 million, adding to the $350 million tally of other commercial property deals that are due to finalise this year.
According to Colliers investment volumes in WA, have reached $1.3 billion across the office, industrial, and retail sectors in 2024 year-to-date. Notably, 10% of all sales nationally were in Western Australia, the report showed – the highest proportion of capital represented by the state in the past decade.
GPT’s acquisition also highlights the resurgence of retail transactions, which have dominated the WA commercial property sector much of the year.
Other major retail deals include Vicinity Centres acquiring a 50% stake in Lakeside Joondalup for $420 million – at a hefty discount to the asset’s peak value – while Hawaiian took full control of Claremont Quarter.
JY Group also paid $195 million for a half-stake in Westfield Whitford City from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC after Scentre Group opted against taking full control of the Perth asset.
