MA Financial’s $700m play for one of the country’s largest mixed-use and value-add shopping sites

IPGeneration is in talks to buy the Hyperdome Shopping Centre from QIC Real Estate.

The listed MA Financial is looking to put a larger stamp on the property market and is making a near-$700m play for the famed Hyperdome complex to the south of Brisbane in rapidly growing Loganholme.

The sprawling 44ha site is one of the country’s largest mixed-use and value-add shopping centre plays as the prospective buyer is likely to overhaul it in coming years and master planning enables large-scale development.

The deal is being driven by MA Financial’s IP Generation business, which has emerged as one of the most active retail property funds managers. It has a focus on boosting retail performance and would likely tap partners in future if mixed-use development was to be pursued.

The centre is being sold off by QIC Real Estate after it added substantial value to the site with a number of overhauls of the site, which includes large format and development land parcels.

QIC has explored options for the site for an extended period and may remain involved as part of its overall commitment to retail that includes big centres in Sydney and Canberra.

MA Financial inked a deal to buy the IP Generation property funds operation in May and has been seeking to turbocharge its growth while the retail property sector is in a sweet spot.

The listed company bought the Melbourne real estate investment manager for $90.4m.

The business, which controlled a $2bn shopping centre empire, is speeding the growth of the existing MA Financial real estate platform, which spans pubs, shopping centres and marinas.

In turn, being owned by the listed company is helping bring in heavyweight investors as backers of the business.

An aerial view of the sprawling, 44ha Hyperdome Shopping Centre site.

MA Financial has flagged that it wants to drive its real estate division harder, increasing its exposure to property funds at a time when the cycle is swinging upwards and it said it was in due diligence on more than $1bn worth of assets at its results last month.

It is buying at a time when large institutions and wholesale pooled funds have been selling assets, aiming to either cut gearing or to fund redemptions to satisfy their own investors. This has driven a series of large-scale sales, including a play by IP Generation for Sydney shopping centre Top Ryde City, which private equity house Blackstone is selling for more than $500m.

The return of big ticket sales shows that the fund managers that have driven acquisitions in the industry for the last period are stepping up to acquire larger assets as this is where the greatest value can be found.

The transaction is being brokered off market by Simon Rooney of CBRE but he and MA Financial declined to comment, while QIC acknowledged the ongoing sales process.

“QIC is currently engaged in a process with the intention of potentially divesting Hyperdome in Logan, in line with client-endorsed strategies,” a QIC spokesman said.

Hyperdome has 181 stores and a triple supermarket offering of Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, driving annual pedestrian traffic of 9.2 million people.

Its large-format Home Centre has 20 retailers including Bunnings, Good Guys, BCF, Supercheap Auto, and there are also offices on site.

QIC acquired a 50 per cent holding in Hyperdome in 1996, before taking full ownership in 2013. In 2020, QIC undertook a full refurbishment and remix of the North Mall, introducing new lifestyle anchors and Queensland’s first Scan & Go Woolworths store.

The combined IP Generation and MA teams manage over $8bn in real estate assets and have capabilities that include redevelopments. IP Generation grew rapidly during the coronavirus crisis.

More recently, it has jumped on the structural shifts in the retail property sector via the acquisitions of Glendale City Centre, and David Jones Bourke Street and Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre (50 per cent) as part of the IPG Special Situations Income Fund.

IP Generation has also exited from five major commercial real estate assets, securing a weighted average return of 14.4 per cent for investors.