Microsoft secures lease in North Sydney’s tallest tower

Microsoft secures lease in North Sydney’s tallest tower

26 July 2019

Microsoft is set to relocate its Australian head office to the tallest tower in North Sydney, a state-of-the-art, $1.2 billion commercial office building at 1 Denison Street due to open next year, the AFR reports.

The tech giant has secured a 10-year lease on the Bates Smart-designed office building, taking up 10,655 square metres across seven levels with floor plates ranging from 1,449 square metres up to 1,563 square metres.

Microsoft Australia managing director Steven Worrall says the move will consolidate several of its sites including its North Ryde head office. The company will retain its Martin Place “technology centre”, which opened earlier this year in the CBD.

The premium grade tower, which is owned by Winten Property Group and being built by Multiplex, is now more than half filled.

Other tenants include Nine Entertainment Co, with 17,000 square metres of space, and software group SAP with 6,000 square metres.

Winten Property Group development director Stuart Vaughan said North Sydney has become an attractive tenancy choice for companies “seeking quick access to the city and high-quality amenity without the price tag”.

“We are receiving strong enquiry from media, pharmaceutical and technology related businesses who are not traditionally working in the North Sydney area as well as Sydney CBD based businesses,” Vaughan said.

“More businesses are investing in North Sydney and bringing amenity and hotels to the area including 88 Walker Street and Vibe Hotel.”

In another North Sydney deal last week, Out of Home advertising company, oOh!media, has taken out a 10-year lease on 6,858 square metres from ESR Australia at 73 Miller Street, set to commence in December 2020.

Under the lease, oOh!media will occupy levels two to five of the building, consolidating existing multi-tenancies with the lease representing 36 per cent of the building’s net lettable area.

The flurry of deals is relaunching North Sydney’s role as a leading tech and media hub.

Prior to the collapse of the dot.com boom in the mid-1990s, North Sydney was known as the main tech and media hub for the country, says The Sydney Morning Herald.

Tenants were used for offsite technology to support the main television studios of the ABC, then located at Artarmon and the Nine Entertainment operations at Willoughby.

After languishing with near 20 per cent vacancy rates when developers were forced to sell and offices moved back to the city to new buildings, the area is now sitting at about 6.4 per cent.

CBRE’s recent review of the Sydney office leasing market shows professional services firms, technology and IT tenants have taken a larger portion of office space, overtaking finance and insurance as the city’s top employer.