JY Group has bought a 50% stake in the largest shopping centre in South Australia for A$670m (€401m) from investment firm Cuscaden Peak.
The operator of the Westfield Marion centre, Scentre Group, owns the remaining half interest. This is JY Group’s second partnership with Scentre, having previously acquired a 50% stake in Westfield Whitford City in Western Australia.
The Westfield Marion transaction follows JY Group’s recent acquisition of a 50% interest in Banktown Central in Sydney.
Singapore-based Cuscaden Peak acquired the property through the privatisation of the listed SPH Reit, which had bought the centre from Lendlease for A$670m in 2019.
Acting on behalf of Cuscaden Peak, CBRE and JLL managed the international expressions-of-interest campaign for the asset.
CBRE’s head of retail capital markets - Pacific, Simon Rooney, said: “The sale process generated a significant level of both domestic and offshore engagement from a wide range of capital sources, including several institutional investors.”
“Fortress assets of the calibre of Westfield Marion remain highly sought-after,” Rooney said, adding that the asset enjoyed Adelaide’s “compelling yield spread” relative to Sydney and Melbourne, and South Australia’s favourable property tax regime.
Nick Willis, JLL’s executive director, retail, said: “Super regional shopping centres represent one of Australia’s most exclusive commercial real estate asset classes, with only 20 centres nationwide controlled by 12 owner managers.
“The opportunity to acquire an ownership stake in the super-regional sub-sector is rarely afforded to the public market. These assets are tightly guarded - they exhibit fortress-like fundamentals that are virtually impossible to replicate.”
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