A shopping centre fund managed by Australian fund manager GPT Group has sold the Wollongong Central mall in Sydney for A$402m (€261m) to an Australian-Hong Kong partnership.
The GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund (GWSCF) has sold the asset to Sydney-based boutique fund manager Haben Property Fund and Hong Kong-based property investment firm JY Group.
Haben Property is believed to be planning to seed the asset into a new property fund, the Haben Wollongong Fund.
The purchase of Wollongong Central is the third investment in Australia for the JY in as many months.
Last week, the investor acquired a half-stake in Sydney’s Roseland Shopping Centre from Challenger, a financial institution, for A$167m.
And in July, Haben and the JY acquired the Casey Centre in Melbourne from M&G Real Estate for A$225m.
Bob Johnston, group managing director and CEO of The GPT Group, said the divestment of the asset was consistent with GWSCF’s strategic focus on near-term asset enhancements and longer-term value creation.
The wholesale fund, which counts Australia’s largest super and global pension funds as investors, was progressing with a number of mixed-use masterplan projects within its portfolio, Johnston said.
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