Australian property investor Forza Capital has raised A$139m (€79m) from investors for a single asset vehicle, which was used to acquire a North Sydney office tower from the superannuation fund-owned ISPT for A$226.5m.
Ashley Wain, co-founder and director, Forza Capital said the 100 Pacific Highway property has been purchased at half its replacement cost.
“This is our first transaction in almost 12 months. We have been patiently assessing the market for opportunities and looking in markets like North Sydney that others have ignored.
“These sort of investment opportunities, buying a high-quality institutional grade assets in dysfunctional markets do not present often, and hence we felt the attributes were compelling.”
Adam Murchie, co-founder and director, Forza Capital said: “ We have a clear plan to reposition 100 Pacific Highway and in the first instance that starts with a A$30m capital works and leasing programme which focus on high-impact upgrades to the tenant experience to aggressively drive leasing outcomes.”
Murchie said the the investment opportunity lies in proactively managing the property’s leasing risk. By getting in early to “upgrade the building with modern features and fit-outs”, they can effectively “de-risk the asset and its cash flows”.
The 19-storey office tower at 100 Pacific Highway in North Sydney had been part of ISPT’s flagship Core Fund which had owned the asset since it was developed in 2006.
ISPT, part of IFM Investors, has also sold a second building in Parramatta in Sydney’s West for about A$82m to local investor Mintus, bringing its total divestment in the two transactions to A$300m.
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