Deals of the Week: 1 March 2019

Deals of the Week: 1 March 2019

NATIONAL: Canada’s Oxford Properties is just days away from launching a more ambitious reworking of the Investa Office Fund it now controls, with ten or more assets worth more than $1.5 billion now earmarked for divestment. A confidential document obtained by the AFR identifies a collection of nine towers from around Australia, with a potential total value well above $1.5 billion. The collection includes one building in Canberra, five in Brisbane, two in North Sydney, and one in central Sydney, 6 O’Connell Street.—AFR.

SYDNEY: Dexus has sold a campus-style office asset in Macquarie Park for $231 million, reflecting a slight premium to the property’s book value at 31 December 2018. The country’s largest office landlord sold a 100 per cent interest in the three buildings to an undisclosed buyer in an off-market sale.—The Urban Developer.

SYDNEY/CANBERRA: In the biggest hotel deal of the year to date, French giant AXA Investment Managers-Real Assets has forged into the local hotel market, buying a four-strong portfolio in Sydney and Canberra for $330.4 million. The purchase, backed by the group’s insurance arm, was made from Middle Eastern sovereign group Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which carved the hotels out a $900m portfolio it picked up in 2013.—The Australian.

MELBOURNE: In the first major institutional deal struck this year, office landlord GPT Group has opted to exercise its pre-emptive right to buy the remaining half share of a Southbank tower for $342 million. The transaction prices the half stake in the 38-storey tower on a tight 5 per cent yield, setting a clear benchmark for this year’s expected run of deals.—AFR.

ADELAIDE: Event Hospitality & Entertainment’s highly successful QT hotel brand will make its debut in the centre of Adelaide in 2021. The new 200-room hotel, the 11th QT hotel to be announced by Event, will be built at 62 Currie Street in a joint venture between ASX-listed developer Axiom Properties and the site’s owner, Auspac Networks. The hotel will form part of a $180 million mixed-use development which will include 10 levels of office space.—AFR.

PERTH: Perth’s office market is starting the year strongly with Primewest finalising a deal to buy an office building from private equity group Blackstone for $86 million. The seven-level, A-grade office building at 226 Adelaide Terrace in Perth’s eastern CBD precinct is fully leased to the federal government and companies including Wood & Grieve Engineers and ENI Australia.—The Australian.