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Mapletree is mulling over purchase of a Grade-A office building in Melbourne. (Image: Newmark Capital Limited)
Attracted by the soaring property prices in the area, Singapore-based Mapletree Investments is mulling to purchase a 10-storey office tower at St Kilda Road in Melbourne worth AU$140 million (S$145.29 million), reported The Australian.
The building is owned by a Newmark Capital-managed trust that purchased it for AU$81.3 million in 2012. It subsequently refurbished the building, including its retail space, and successfully renewed the leasing contract with Oracle.
Tech tenants consider the property as one of the best buildings in the area, and it is also one of only five Grade-A office buildings at the prime city fringe boulevard. With a net leaseable area of 20,441sq m, the building comes with 472 carparks and has a four-star grade from the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).
The transaction is being brokered by Nick Rathgeber and Leigh Melbourne from Colliers International.
At present, Mapletree is performing due diligence on the property, but it has already acquired several other office buildings in Australia in the past, with word on the market that it’s looking to create a new trust.
Last year, it bought a tower in Sydney’s Macquarie Park from real estate fund manager CorVal for AU$106 million, with market watchers saying that the property will form part of the anchor assets for Mapletree’s upcoming listed fund.
Beside picking up three properties from the Goodman Group for AU$250 million in 2015, it also purchased the West Perth headquarters of ConocoPhillips from Primewest for AU$59 million.
Originally, Mapletree made its maiden acquisition in Australia in 2014, when it bought the HQ of mining services firm Ausenco in South Brisbane for around AU$92.8 million.
Furthermore, experts believe that Mapletree will likely list a portfolio as it already oversees four Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and six private equity property funds, which together own a slew of assets across Asia-Pacific, the US and the UK.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
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