SachsenFonds is close to completing its exit from the Australian real estate market following the sale of a Melbourne office tower for AUD160m (€105m).

The German real estate manager, which began investing in the country in 2008, has been selling the bulk of its AUD600m portfolio over the past 24 months.

The sale of 75 Dorcas Street to Growthpoint Properties, a listed company majority-owned by South African investors, has been finalised after several weeks of due diligence.

SachsenFonds, a subsidiary of KanAm, bought the office building from Investa Property Group in 2008, paying AUD135.5m.

With SachsenFonds’ Australia fund in administration, the sale was initiated by Investec, the South African financial group, which bought the mortgage on the building as part of a loan portfolio acquired from Australian bank, Suncorp in 2014.

In 2012, SachsenFonds reportedly shelved plans to launch an open-ended Australian real estate fund.

The disposal of the SachsenFonds portfolio began in late 2014 with the sale of four office buildings in Adelaide to Lendlease for AUD175m.

Last December, 161 Collins Street, its prime asset located in the heart of Melbourne’s business district, went to the US-based Pembroke Real Estate for AUD275m, marking the latter’s entry into the Melbourne market.

After the sale of 75 Dorcas Street, the remaining asset in the SachsenFonds’ portfolio is Innovation Building, part of Digital Harbour in Melbourne’s Docklands. This building was acquired together with 75 Dorcas Street from Investa Property Group in 2008.

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