Singapore-listed property investor Metro Holdings and its joint venture partner, Sim Lian, have acquired an A$88.1m (€58m) neighbourhood shopping centre in southeastern Australia from Dexus Wholesale Property Fund.

Metro’s group chief executive officer, Yip Hoong Mun, said the acquisition of Shepparton Marketplace, located in Shepparton in rural Victoria marks the “continued diversification for the resilience of our Australian portfolio so that Metro can grow stronger, reach further and scale higher”.

“The level of buyer interest in the Shepparton Marketplace process demonstrates the continued depth of demand for quality sub-regional shopping centre assets, particularly centres offering value-add opportunities,” Simon Rooney, CBRE head of retail capital markets, Pacific.

Metro entered the Australian office and retail markets in 2019 when it formed a joint venture with Sim Lian.

Metro said the latest acquisition lifted its total Australian portfolio to 17 assets, valued at approximately A$1.2bn, and had occupancy of 95.1% and a weighted average lease expiry of approximately 6.1 years by income.

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