CBRE hoping to offload Gunn industrial portfolio to Asian investors
A portfolio of industrial properties held by BRW rich-lister Peter Gunn will be marketed at international investors with a particular focus on the Asian investment market.
The portfolio is being marketed exclusively by CBRE.
Gunn, Australia’s 50th richest man with a fortune estimated at $800 million, wants to reweight his property portfolio and put some capital in CBD commercial assets.
CBRE will look to take advantage of better market conditions when marketing the portfolio.
Commercial property sector sales surge by 432% in the second quarter of the year to $2.7 billion with the industrial sector accounted for 8% of all transactions.
The portfolio, held by Gunn’s PGA Group, is made up of five warehouse/distribution centres and two approved development sites.
It includes properties PGA has been trying to offload for a number of years.
Up for sale is the 5.65=hectare industrial property at 34 Airds Road, Minto in NSW, purchased in September 1997 for $7.25 million, which has been for sale since 30 October 2008.
The 6.65-hectare development site at 295 Archerfield Road in Richlands, Queensland was purchased for $4.3 million in 2000 and has been listed for sale since April 2009.
Another long-held property up for sale is a 2.54-hectare industrial property at 39 Britton Street in Smithfield in NSW, tenanted by Snack Brands Australia, which was purchased by the PGA Group in April 1993 for $900,000.
The other properties listed for sale are at 39 Britton Street, Smithfield (NSW), 34 Jonal Drive, Cavan (SA), 42-44 Jonal Drive, Cavan (SA), 96-108 Greens Road, Dandenong South (VIC) and 110-116 Greens Road, Dandenong South (VIC).
The assets make up a total building area of close to 65,000 square metres and a combined land area of 235,000 square metres with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.97 years.
The campaign will look to take advantage of a turnaround in investor sentiment towards commercial property, which saw commercial property transactions surge by 432% in the second quarter of 2011 to $2.7 billion, 14% above the long-term quarterly average turnover.
Notable recent transactions include the $65 million sale of a Coles distribution centre in Victoria to the Roberts family.
CBRE regional director for industrial, logistics and investments, Joshua Charles expects interest from both local and international investors.
“These assets are of excellent quality and several of the properties offer significant upside,” Charles says.
“Given the geographical spread and the potential price range we expect the sale to attract broad ranging buyer demand.”
According to CBRE, the PGA Group is “keen to fully exploit the strong international interest in Australian industrial assets”.
Expressions of interest close August 18, 2011.