Barings buys office, warehouses worth c$425m
Barings is speculated to be spending c$425 million on an A-grade office leasehold and two distribution centres.
In the biggest deal, the asset manager, a subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, or Mass Mutual – is paying $360m for Sydney’s Darling Square, completed six years ago on the site of former Sydney Entertainment Centre car park.
Rated net zero with a 5-5-star NABERS Energy score, the 12 storey building contains 27,750 square metres.
The top eight floors include the offices with CBA the anchor, occupying 71 per cent, Transgrid and Sparro Digital Marketing.
About 13pc of this component was vacant when the asset hit the market last year.
Also with lower level retail, basement car parking managed by First Parking, with 451 bays, the weighted average lease expiry is about three years.
Barings will hold the property via BRAVA V – its fifth trust in the Real Estate Australia Value Add Fund (BRAVA) series, which kicked off in 2010.
Lendlease, for the Australian Prime Property Fund, and Aware Super, were the sellers, represented by CBRE with JLL’s Luke Billiau, James Barber and Andrew Rojek.
The pair paid $300m off-the-plan in 2015.
The leasehold expires 2116.
The deal comes a year since we reported Lendlease sold a collection of Darling Square retail investments for $88m.
Brisbane warehouses
Meanwhile, Barings has acquired two Brisbane assets to seed a $100m Brighter Super mandate, which targets industrial investments.
In the biggest deal, it is paying Centuria $32.5m for 576-584 Boundary Road, Archerfield, with 13,034 sqm on 1.99ha.
The result reflects a 5.7 per cent net passing yield based on the income when the asset was listed late last year.
The weighted average lease expiry is about two years.
CBRE and Colliers were the marketing agents.
Settlement was June 30.
Dexus suffers hit
The final property Barings picked up, 116-130 Gilmore Road, Berrinba, cost $32m.
With 13,392 sqm on 2.5ha, it was offloaded by Dexus which outlaid $37.5m in 2021.
Savills was the marketing agency.
Settlement was June 27.
Queensland super fund keeps it local
The new industrial mandate is part of a plan by Brighter Super to buy some $500m of Queensland product within five years.
It already manages real estate here worth c$35 billion on behalf of some 280,000 members.
Elsewhere in Queensland, this includes the 154ha site leased to Village Roadshow Theme Parks for Warner Bros Movie World, Wet n’ Wild and Village Roadshow Studios.
Since forming in 2010, Brighter Super has teamed on investments with Barings, formerly known as Altis Property Partners.
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