Launceston’s Henty House on market with $20m+ expectation

Henty House in Launceston has hit the market. Picture: Supplied

LAUNCESTON CBD landmark office building Henty House has hit the market.

And it could fetch a price in the low to mid-$20m range.

The five-level building at No.1 Civic Square was purpose built for the Tasmanian Government and is leased to state and federal departments.

Henty House occupiers include Health and Human Services, Justice, Treasury and Finance, Premier and Cabinet, Police, Fire and Emergency Management in addition to the Federal Government on a new 15-year term.

Located in the central Civic Precinct, the property neighbours government-occupied buildings near Royal Park and the Tamar River waterfront.

Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied

Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied

From its 2517sq m site it provides a lettable area of 4678sq m and generates a net annual income of more than $1.5m.

In addition to recent capital expenditure, a multimillion-dollar tenant fit-out upgrade is imminent.

No.1 Civic offers a weighted average lease expiry of close to seven years.

Henty House is being offered for sale by Sydney-based property investment company STRADA Group.

CBRE’s Melbourne Capital Markets Office team, Tom Ryan and Scott Orchard, in conjunction with Tim Johnstone and Scott Alexander of Hobart’s Edwards Windsor, will manage the expressions of interest campaign.

The agents say the timing of the sale coincides with a post-pandemic resurgence in the Launceston region — and Tasmania more broadly — evidenced by continued growth in Gross State Product, population expansion and historically low unemployment.

Meanwhile, Tasmania’s long streak of leading the nation in the CBA’s State of the States report again ranked it at No.1 in April, the ninth quarter in a row where the Apple Isle held the mantle of the best performing economy.

Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied

Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied

Edwards Windsor director Tim Johnstone said quality Tasmanian investment opportunities were challenging those in interstate Australian CBDs, with unprecedented capital flows in recent years given the state’s appealing returns.

“The economic background is highly conducive for continued strong investment in Tasmania, with the state benefiting from annual residential home growth, low unemployment and jobs creation, dwelling starts and retail expenditure,” Mr Johnstone said.

Henty House, Launceston. Picture: Supplied

CBRE’s Tom Ryan said No.1 Civic offered flexible, quality office accommodation for all tenant types and has a demonstrated tenancy track record, underpinned by its strategic, central CBD location.

“It has benefited from strong capital expenditure investment, with $2m in building upgrades and improvements completed over the past five years,” he said.

CBRE’s Scott Orchard said there is a distinct shortage of quality office investment offerings and enhanced demand for robust tenancy profiles post the pandemic.

“Henty House will allow prudent investors to capture very attractive returns which will reflect a big arbitrage in context to the current 10-year Government bond rate,” he said.

“The replacement cost alone of this asset also makes the investment case incredibly compelling.”

Parliament Square. Picture: Richard Jupe

Parliament Square. Picture: Richard Jupe

Last year, CBRE sold the mixed-use Parliament Square development in Hobart for about $330 million to Spirit Super in the state’s biggest commercial property transaction.

Underpinned by tenants such as the Tasmanian Government, the yield on the office component was 4.3 per cent.