This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
MELBOURNE developer MAB Corporation has snapped up more than 32 hectares of former quarry land in the city’s south-east neighbouring an existing holding, marking its third acquisition in the precinct.
MAB’s purchase of 1520 Thompsons Road in Cranbourne East, within the Croskell Employment Precinct, gives it an institutional scale holding in a region in which industrial land is in demand.
“We are seeing a real shift, fast-tracked by COVID, where retail shopping has morphed into warehouse-based businesses selling products online and using logistics and supply chains to deliver to customers, rather than people shopping in a traditional storefront,” said LAWD agent Peter Sagar, who sold the site with Paul Callanan and Henry Sayers.
“Residential lot sizes are also shrinking across Melbourne, becoming a catalyst for a booming self-storage market, as people seek additional storage for their assets such as boats and caravans,” Sagar said.
“This has significantly increased demand for this type of real estate, and for MAB, the acquisition creates a large institutional scale holding for them in an area where the supply of industrial land is largely exhausted.”
The final sale price remains confidential but is believed to have sold for more than $50 million. Industry sources told Australian Property Journal during the campaign that the site could sell for more than $60 million.
The vendor was retail syndicator Fawkner Property, which bought the property for $3 million.
“It was always our intention to hold on to the land and achieve full value to provide capital gains for our investors, so this transaction is a terrific result for our unit holders,” said CIO and founder, Chris Garnaut.
The deal is LAWD’s fourth deal in the precinct in the past two years, with proceeds tallying in excess of $300 million. Also in the south-east, the agency is currently fielding expressions of interest for Thompsons Corner Business Park in Cranbourne East, and Wilmac Business Park in Clyde North.
It recently sold the Cranbourne Golf Club, which is earmarked for residential development to support the population growth in the south-east corridor.
Elsewhere in the south-east, the global arm of global logistics platform ESR has recently partnered with Japanese giant Mitsubishi Estate Asia to develop a $175 million industrial estate in Pakenham.
Closer to the city, Elanor and PGIM Real Estate have acquired 19 hectares of land in Mulgrave for about $200 million, with plans to build a 113,000 sqm logistics estate, while In Clayton South, MaxCap and Troon Group have received planning approval for a 60,000 sqm industrial estate with nine warehouses on a 10-hectare site the joint venture acquired last year for $50 million.
