This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
QUBE confirmed it is in exclusive negotiations with Logos Property Group to sell the $2 billion-plus Moorebank Logistics Park in Sydney’s south west.
The confirmation followed weeks of speculation that Logos was on the brink of edging out rivals including ESR, Charter Hall, Blackstone and Dexus.
However, a deal – or whether one eventuates at all – for the complex asset is not expected until late in the year. The under construction intermodal freight facility will be the country’s largest, encompassing 243 hectares.
The facility is being developed on land owned by the Commonwealth and next to land held by Qube. Qube has been tipped to sell at least half of the land trust and warehouse trust, and remain owner the terminal trust.
Any transaction would be subject to a range of third-party approvals including from the Australian government entity, Moorebank Intermodal Company.
Qube said a number of non-binding indicative offers from were received in the second stage of the process.
“While work on the transaction is progressed, it is still at the status of a non-binding indicative proposal, and it remains subject to a number of conditions, including the agreement of the precise details and scope of the monetisation structure, completion of due diligence, and documentation.
“Qube and LOGOS have now commenced the significant work needed in order to agree and document the level of ownership and assets which would be subject to the monetisation, as well as the operating structure and arrangements to optimise the alignment of the parties with respect to the MLP and the Interstate and IMEX terminals.”
Logos Property Group has $13.8 billion assets under management.
In the middle of the year, Woolworths agreed to invest around $780 million for two new automated warehouses within Moorebank Logistics Park. The major supermarket entered into 20 year leases with multiple options for a 40,700 sqm national and 34,600 sqm regional distribution centre across 26 hectares of land.
As part of the agreement, Woolworths is developing the warehouses and Qube is funding their construction. Qube’s capital commitment for the base building construction is expected to be between $420 and $460 million which will be incurred over the next three to four years with revenue of approximately $30 million per annum when fully operational.
Qube offloaded a 30.6 hectare automotive logistics park in Sydney’s Minto to Charter Hall in July for $207 million, and earlier in the year offloaded seven hectares of industrial land in Melbourne’s western suburbs earlier this year for $65 million to boutique development platform Time & Place.
