BlackRock has acquired a Sydney office tower for AUD81m (€57.6m) on behalf of German institutional investors.
According to a source, the building in North Sydney was bought for a German regulated fund set up prior to BlackRock’s takeover of MGPA in 2013.
The source said BlackRock had “a lot of capital ready” to be placed in the Australian market.
The Asien Spezialfonds vehicle, which was launched by MGPA with a €500m investment target, bought its first Australian asset in 2013, buying the Optima Centre in Perth for AUD106m.
At the time, a senior BlackRock executive said the fund was targetting high-yielding assets, and that its strategy was “typically buy, fix and sell”.
The latest asset, 2 Elizabeth Plaza, was sold by Marprop Real Estate Partners on behalf of a club of 10 high-net-worth individuals.
According to another source, BlackRock identified the asset earlier this year, and approached the manager seeking to acquire it.
“Our owners were happy to hold the property for much longer, but could not refuse such an attractive price,” the source said.
Since it bought the building in 2014 for AUD45m, Marprop has increased the occupancy rate from 70% to 80%.
North Sydney is experiencing a resurgence of new office development and improved infrastructure, including a second subway line from the central business district, due for completion in 2020.
“I expect the new owners will conduct a rent review and reposition the building to benefit from improved amenities in the area,” the source said.
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