Australian public service pension fund Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) has acquired a 50% stake in the Watergardens regional shopping centre in Melbourne from QIC for A$480m (€295m).
A source told IPE Real Assets that the transaction price reflects a premium to the stake’s A$470m book value.
CSC, which manages more than A$80bn for Australian government employees and the Australian Defence Force, acquired the interest from the QIC Town Centre Fund. The fund co-owned the asset with sister vehicle QIC Property Fund, which retains the remaining 50% interest.
QIC, which originally developed the shopping centre in 1995, will continue to act as property manager.
The GPT Group will act as investment manager for CSC, under a mandate which includes the management of CSC half stake in another large regional shopping mall centre, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, in Brisbane.
The sale of Watergardens Melbourne forms part of QIC’s broader strategy to expand its convenience retail portfolio via the QIC Everyday Retail Fund (QERF).
In a separate transaction, QERF has acquired Mambourin Marketplace in Melbourne’s western suburbs from Frasers Property Australia for A$53.87m.
QIC Real Estate fund manager - core plus strategies, Charles Occhino, said the acquisition demonstrated QERF’s disciplined approach to deploying capital as competition for high-quality convenience retail remained strong.
“This is another step forward for QERF, representing our first acquisition in Victoria and the redeployment of capital following recent industrial divestments,” Occhino said, adding QIC continued to assess a pipeline of opportunities aligned with its everyday retail strategy.
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