This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AMP Capital is believed to have increased its stake in the $1.8 billion Wynyard Place development to 75%, in a circa $450 million deal on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
A 25% stake has been acquired from Brookfield, and will be added to the 25% AMP Capital’s Wholesale Office Fund acquired in 2017, and the 24.9% share bought for its client UniSuper.
Currently under construction, the 75,000 sqm Wynyard Place precinct will be centred around a 59,000 sqm, 27 level office tower at 10 Carrington St, and also comprise heritage buildings Shell House and 285 George St which are both being restored, and an upgrade to the George St entrance of Wynyard train station.
Major insurance company Allianz has signed a 10-year lease at the precinct for its new Sydney headquarters, and NAB will take up 31,000 sqm in a 12-year deal.
HKMA’s one-quarter share in the project will add to its interest in the $2.6 billion International Tower 1 at Barangaroo. It acquired 25% from Lendlease in 2016 for $350 million, and added an additional 10% earlier this year for $200 million.
Last year, HKMA teamed up with Lendlease’s unlisted Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial to acquire the timber Barangaroo South commercial development, Daramu House, for around $250 million from Lendlease.
This latest transaction comes hot on the heels of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC acquiring a 25.1% stake in the Barangaroo office towers earlier this month. It comes after GIC sold 50% interest in Chifley Tower to Charter Hall for $900 million.
Charter Hall quickly followed up the Chifley deal by teaming up with Canada’s Quadreal and Abacus Property Group to buy 201 Elizabeth St for $630 million.
Other notable transactions include Blackstone paying $1.52 billion for the 100 Market St and 77 and 85 Castlereagh St towers; Hong Kong billionaire Francis Choi bought out Cromwell to take full ownership of Northpoint Tower for $300 million; as did Dexus with co-owner GPT for the MLC Centre for $800 million; GPT forked out $531 million for a 25% interest in the Darling Park 1 & 2 and Cockle Bay Wharf complex; US fund manager Starwood Capital and Arrow Capital bought The Zenith Centre for $438.2 million, and Charter Hall spent $804 million on two King Street Wharf office buildings, just to name a few.
A recent report by Cushman & Wakefield found commercial property transactions soared by 22% in the 2019 financial year to $42.6 billion. It was underpinned by office deals which accounted for $23.1 billion of total sales, up 22.6%.
Office investment volumes were highest in New South Wales, at $10.2 billion, with Sydney remaining the most active market for deal.
