Charter Hall buys A$245m government-leased office portfolio

Australian property group Charter Hall has acquired a A$245m (€153m) office portfolio of government-leased assets from developer Doma Group.

The assets, in Newcastle, a regional city in NSW, and the national capital, Canberra, are being carved up among three Charter Hall funds.

The listed Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF) has bought 18 Canberra Avenue, which is occupied by federal government agency Services Australia. Charter Hall Direct Long WALE Fund and Charter Hall Direct PFA Fund have taken ownership of the Newcastle building, with each contributing A$73m for an equal share of the asset, which is leased to NSW state government departments.

Charter Hall’s head of office investment management and CPOF fund manager, Matthew Brown, said the latest acquisition was a modern, purpose-built asset that aligned well with the fund’s strategy of acquiring properties leased to high-quality tenants on long-term leases.

Charter Hall direct fund manager, Julian Menegazzo, said the acquisition improved the overall quality and diversification of the unlisted Charter Hall Direct Long WALE Fund by providing an allocation to the office sector. It had increased the portfolio weighting to the expanding NSW commercial market.

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