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Link enters into a joint venture with Oxford Properties with a 49.9% interest in the Investa Gateway Office venture, holding four office properties in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Upon completion of the acquisition, Link will have a total of eight commercial properties in the Sydney CBD, including 388 George Street as one of its latest additions.
388 George Street is located on Sydney’s most prominent intersection, the corner of George and King Streets. Redeveloped in 2020 from a 1970s office tower into a state-of-the-art commercial tower, the building boasts a prime-new retail pavilion and improved connectivity to the surrounding Sydney CBD.
126 Phillip Street, also known as Deutsche Bank Place, is an iconic 240-metre-high skyscraper office building at the top end of Hunter Street in the prestigious North Eastern end of the Sydney CBD.
126 Phillip Street boasts a 5-Star NABERS Energy rating and provides tenants with convenient amenities such as showers, bike racks, a childcare centre and attractive outdoor areas.
347 Kent Street is located within the Western Corridor of Sydney CBD, with easy transport connections nearby for bus, train, tram or cycling.
Barrack Place on 151 Clarence Street incorporates a strong focus on sustainability, achieving impressive environmental credentials such as a 5.5 Star NABERS Energy rating, as well as a WELL Platinum certification.
Barrack Place is located on the southern end of Martin Place, the building is in close proximity to Queen Victoria Building.
Link’s first investment in Melbourne – 567 Collins street is located at the juncture of the Melbourne CBD, Southbank and Docklands and has a net lettable area of over 55,000 square metres. With unprecedented connectivity and panoramic city skyline views, the building has also attained an impressive 5.5 Star NABERS Water rating and Energy rating.
Link Asset Management Limited (Link), the manager of Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT; Hong Kong stock code: 823) announced today (Thursday) that Link has agreed to enter into a joint venture with Oxford Properties Group (Oxford) in the Investa Gateway Office (IGO) venture, which consists of a prime office portfolio in Australia worth over AUD2.3 billion. Link will own a 49.9% interest while Oxford will own a 50.1% interest.
Link will sit alongside Oxford as a keystone investor in IGO. Located in core locations of the global gateway cities of Sydney and Melbourne, IGO comprises five income-producing, prime grade office assets with focus in sustainability - 126 Phillip Street, 388 George Street, 151 Clarence Street and 347 Kent Street all in Sydney and 567 Collins Street, Melbourne. IGO has been and will continue to be managed by Investa, a proven, end-to-end real estate investment manager and office sector specialist in Australia.
George Hongchoy, Link’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“IGO is one of the highest quality Australian office real estate portfolios to be offered to the market in recent years. We are delighted to partner with two firms that have deep conviction and connections in the Australian market and further strengthen Link’s presence in the country. The Australian economy has been highly resilient and the investment in one of its highest quality prime office portfolios provides immediate scale, positions us strongly for the next cycle and aligns with our Vision 2025 growth strategy of diversifying and improving our portfolio mix in the region.”
The purchase price of the 49.9% interest in the joint venture is AUD596 million (approximately HK$3.3 billion)(1). Link will fund the investment through its internal cash resources and debt facilities.
Alec Harper, Oxford’s Head of Australia, said:
“Leveraging Investa’s Australian office management expertise, we have created significant value and achieved a high performing de-risked portfolio. Following on from the recent investment by Mitsubishi Estate into our Parkline Place project, today’s transaction further demonstrates the continued global institutional demand for prime and highly sustainable office product. The deal demonstrates Oxford’s and Investa’s ability to attract partner capital and crystallises the value created by each of our teams. We look forward to partnering with Link on this venture.”
“Oxford will redeploy capital from the transaction into our prime office develop-to-core pipeline and build-to-rent develop-to-core investment strategy in Australia, where we continue to have a favourable long-term outlook.”
Penny Ransom, Investa’s Chief Investment Officer, said:
“We are excited to welcome Link as a significant, new investment partner to our platform. To attract a partner of Link’s calibre reflects the quality of the IGO portfolio and the strong synergies that exist between our businesses. Link and Oxford’s global investment track record, together with Investa’s leading investment and asset management expertise, will underpin the future performance of the venture.”
Oxford is a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder, while Investa is Oxford’s local operating and development partner across its commercial office portfolio and growing build-to-rent residential business in Australia. Through active asset management, the portfolio has been successfully de-risked by Investa and Oxford and provides diversified income, backed by high calibre tenants from a range of industries, with strong lease covenants and market leading environmental credentials.
The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2022.
A regulatory announcement and presentation about the joint venture is attached.
High-resolution pictures can be downloaded here.
Note:
(1) Based on the Bloomberg exchange rate (AUD 1: HKD5.553) quoted as at 7 February 2022.
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About Link
Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Hong Kong stock code: 823), managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is a leading retail-focused REIT in the world. Listed in 2005 as the first REIT in Hong Kong, Link has been 100% held by public and institutional investors and is a Hang Seng Index constituent stock. From its home in Hong Kong, Link owns and manages a diversified portfolio including retail facilities, car parks, offices and logistics assets spanning China’s Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Beijing and Shanghai, the UK’s London and Australia’s Sydney. Link seeks to extend its portfolio growth trajectory and grasp expansion opportunities in different markets in pursuit of its medium-term target Vision 2025.
For details, please visit https://www.linkreit.com.
About Oxford Properties Group
Oxford Properties Group (“Oxford”) is a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder. It builds, buys, and grows defined real estate operating business with world-class management teams. Established in 1960, Oxford and its portfolio companies manage approximately C$80 billion of assets across four continents on behalf of their investment partners. Oxford’s owned portfolio encompasses office, logistics, retail, multifamily residential, life sciences, hotels and credit in global gateway cities and high-growth hubs. A thematic investor with a committed source of capital, Oxford invests in properties, portfolios, development sites, debt, securities and real estate businesses across the risk-reward spectrum. Together with its portfolio companies, Oxford is one of the world’s most active developers with over 100 projects currently underway globally across all major asset classes. Oxford is owned by OMERS, the Canadian defined benefit pension plan for Ontario's municipal employees.
For more information visit www.oxfordproperties.com.
About Investa
Investa is an Australian real estate management and development service provider in the office and residential sectors. With close to A$12 billion in assets under management, we maximise value for our tenants, residents, investors and the community through our real estate management expertise and by consistently delivering a superior customer experience, while remaining an industry leader in sustainable building management and responsible property investment.
For more information visit www.investa.com.au.