Barings Real Estate has bought a retail centre in Western Australia for A$74m (€45m) on behalf of its diversified Australia value-add strategy.
The Joondalup Square centre, comprising 13,216sqm of gross leased area across three freestanding buildings, is located in the retail and commercial hub of Joondalup in Perth.
It is the last asset acquired for the Barings 4th Australia value-add strategy. Since inception in 2010, the strategy has focused on value-add industrial, large-format retail, and countercyclical office investments.
Barings has said a successor fund, Barings 5th Australia value-add strategy, will aim to hold its first close in the first quarter of next year.
James King, senior director, portfolio management at Barings, said: “We are pleased to achieve this important milestone for our investors of the strategy being fully invested.
“As a relatively sector-agnostic investor, in the current market dynamics, we are continuing to see relative value opportunities across the major markets that our successor value-add strategy will seek to take advantage of in 2025.”
Gareth Price, managing director, capital transactions at Barings, said: “We are delighted to acquire our first high-quality large-format retail asset in Perth in the heart of the Joondalup retail precinct.
“We are attracted to the industrial-like characteristics of large land area, great access and visibility, buildings not overcapitalised, quality tenants paying sustainable rent, and additional development potential.”
James Wilson, head of retail middle markets – Australia, Colliers, which handled the transaction with Cygnet West, said: “Joondalup Square was the first metropolitan LFR centre sold in 2024, as reflected by over A$700m in value of unsatisfied capital targeting the tightly held retail sub-sector.”
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