11 Sep 2014

Hines hovers in Docklands

One of the world’s largest privately owned property groups, Hines, has emerged as the preferred ­bidder on GPT Group’s $155 million Docklands asset.

Hines’s move into due diligence on 818 Bourke Street, Melbourne, comes as it looks to offload the headquarters of listed mining services company Ausenco in Brisbane. It acquired the Brisbane asset a little more than two years ago for $88 million.

Although a giant player globally, with $28 billion in assets under management, Hines is a relatively small player in Australia still.

Still, it has been an active operator in the Melbourne market in recent months, showing interest in Cbus Property’s $433.5 million NAB building in Docklands, according to sources.

Hines makes acquisitions for its suite of funds but can also act on mandates.

Industry sources expect if the deal sticks it will go through on an initial passing yield of about 6.8 per cent.

The six-level Docklands building has 21,900 square metres of space on the waterfront. It is fully leased to Ericsson, Infosys and AMP.

Colliers International’s Nick Rathgeber and Leigh Melbourne were appointed to handle the building.

For GPT the transaction, if completed, will provide a potential pool of capital to recycle as it moves to settle on the $608 million CBW complex in central Melbourne.

Both the CBW complex and the NAB building, where AMP Capital emerged as the buyer, comprised a landmark $1 billion divestment by Cbus Property.

The CBW complex is changing hands on an initial yield around 6 per cent. The NAB building transaction was closed at a 5.75 per cent yield – one of the sharpest struck in the Melbourne market for many years.

In September last year, Malaysian investor CIMB-TrustCapital secured Lang Walker’s new completed Australian Taxation Office building in Docklands for $279 million on a 6.25 per cent yield.

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