Canberra’s office market is again on the radar of local institutions, which wracked up a busy second half in 2017 after foreign buyers had set the early pace.
In two of the most recent deals, financial services group Challenger swooped on a Childers Square office tower and superannuation fund-backed manager ISPT picked up a complex in Barton in the parliamentary triangle.
Challenger bought the Childers Square complex for $92.15 million on an initial yield of 7.52% from an entity linked to the Morris Property Group, which took full control of the building in 2014 in a $76 million play.
The six-storey building spanning 15,000sqm at 14 Childers St in the City West precinct was completed in 2009. It has about 20 tenants including BAE Systems, Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation and National Australia Bank, giving the asset a weighted-average lease expiry of about six years.
ISPT bought the six-storey A-grade complex at 6 National Circuit from the private Doma Group for about $38 million. The 6256sqm office block commands expansive views of Parliament House and the surrounding precincts.
A Charter Hall-run fund also bought 44 Sydney Ave for $58.6 million and local companies, including EG Funds Management and Amalgamated Property Group, swooped on four properties in the parliamentary triangle precinct sold by the federal government.
All up, Australian institutions were involved in 10 deals totalling more than$440m.
A further 20,000sqm of space in the CBD and 15,000sqm in Dickson have been pre-committed by the ACT government.
Savills ACT managing director Andrew Stewart says that activity has been spurred by the Korean deal and he sees a place for all forms of capital.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property