Local investors see value in Perth’s office market
Local investors are pouring into Perth’s office market in a sign that interest in the city’s office towers will be lasting as leasing demand in the resources capital picks up and tenants scramble for space.
In the latest play, WA-based Acure Asset Management is believed to be tapping local investors and a South Korean backer as it seeks to lock down the purchase of Perth’s Optima Centre for about $130 million.
The move comes hot on the heels of Growthpoint Properties Australia buying the complex at 836 Wellington Street, in West Perth, from Investa Office Fund for about $103 million.
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That six-storey complex, being sold via Knight Frank, is in due diligence at a large premium to its $75.9 million book value, and is viewed as a safe bet on the city’s longer-term leasing recovery.
The 11,973sqm building is occupied by the federal government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection and has a weighted average lease expiry of 8.67 years. The deal will show an initial yield of about 6.2%.
Acure, meanwhile, is thought to be targeting the A-grade two-building Optima Centre being sold by BlackRock. It fits well with Acure’s model of buying quality property assets for its network of private funds.
The listed Moelis & Company Australia is also a strategic partner of Acure, which owns assets including the Brand Smart Premium Outlet Centre in Melbourne’s Nunawading.
Acure’s other trusts include an industrial fund and syndicates that own interests in Outback Travel Centres.
The Optima Centre sits in Herdsmen Business Park and was completed in 2010. It was last bought by private equity real estate group MGPA for $105.67m in 2013.
The fully leased, two-building office campus has 16,116sqm of office space and occupies a 9459sq m site just 5km from Perth’s CBD.
The property is being sold by agents Colliers International and JLL, who declined to comment.
The Optima Centre has an annual net income of about $9.03 million from a clutch of blue-chip tenants.
Acure was drawn to the complex by a lease renewal that would see the WA government occupy about 83% of the net lettable area until mid-2032.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
