Charter Hall Group enters due diligence on Sydney's Macquarie HQ for $500 million

Charter Hall Group is in exclusive due diligence to acquire the 100 per cent leasehold interest in Macquarie Group's headquarters on Sydney's King Street Wharf precinct for more than $500 million from Brookfield Office Properties. 

The sale of 1 Shelley Street could be one of the most closely watched commercial sales this year and is expected to set new benchmark yields for core property in the CBD. The office tower, next to the Barangaroo development, could sell on a yield of close to 5 per cent, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.

Charter Hall is likely to tip the 11-storey building into its $2.6 billion wholesale Core Plus Office Fund. CPOF was the top performing unlisted office fund in 2015 with a 20 per cent return and earlier this week bought 130 Lonsdale Street in Melbourne, the AFR said.

The deal, if it goes through, will be the second major office property in Sydney's CBD to sell to a local institutional player this month after the Investa Commercial Property Fund paid $443 million for a majority stake in 420 George Street earlier this month.

A Charter Hall spokesman declined to comment when contacted but it is understood to be in the early stages of due diligence. CBRE and Savills, who marketed the property, did not comment. 

Charter Hall beat the competition, including UOL out of Singapore and AMP's wholesale office fund, for the deal.

The Macquarie headquarters is one of two Sydney assets Brookfield put on the market to fund its development pipeline. The other is a half stake in KPMG Tower at 10 Shelley Street but it is understood no party is in due diligence yet, the AFR said.