Dexus has acquired a further 25% stake in a prime regional shopping mall in Queensland from Scentre Group for A$683m (€388m) to seed a newly launched fund.
The interest in Westfield Chermside in Brisbane is the first asset for the inaugural Dexus Strategic Investment Trust (DSIT).
Another Dexus vehicle, Dexus Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund, acquired a 25% stake in Westfield Chermside in July 2025. Between the two transactions, Dexus now has a 50% stake in the centre, Australia’s second-largest regional shopping centre by both sales and gross lettable area.
Ross Du Vernet, Dexus Group CEO and managing director, said: “Our funds platform provides investors with high-quality assets across multiple strategies that align with their specific investment objective. By working closely with our investment partners, we are able to deliver compelling opportunities and continue to expand our platform offering.”
Kirrily Lord, Dexus executive general manager, retail said: “This transaction leverages our established relationship with Scentre Group to secure a further platform investment in a market-leading asset.”
Elliott Rusanow, Scentre group CEO, said: “Following these transactions, approximately A$1.3bn of new capital will have been introduced into the group. This is consistent with our long-term capital management strategy and provides the group with further capital to pursue strategic objectives and deliver sustainable growth.”
Upon completion, Scentre group will own 50% of Westfield Chermside directly and remain the property, leasing and development manager of the asset. It said it will invest A$50m into Dexus Strategic Investment Trust as a foundation investor.
Dexus will initially co-invest around A$170m into the fund with third-party investors contributing the remainder. It plans to sell down its holding to other capital partners and will retain a residual investment of about A$50m.
As well as DSIT, the group’s other fund, Dexus Real Estate Partnership 2, has brought forward its final close to later this month, having raised an additional A$390m since the last financial year. The partnership has now raised more than A$870m – upsized from the initial A$600m target.
Jason Howes, Dexus’s executive general manager, fund capital and product development, said: “The latest equity raise positions DREP 2 as one of the largest and most diversified opportunity funds in the Australian market. This enhances the fund’s investment flexibility.”
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