Mirvac is closing in on two prime office acquisitions in Sydney and Melbourne, betting on a revival at the top end of the commercial property market.
The ASX-listed company is circling the stakes in two prime towers being sold by industry superannuation-backed giant Cbus Property. It would place them in its flagship office fund in deals worth close to $640m in total.
In Sydney, it is targeting the purchase of an interest in 5 Martin Place, and in Melbourne it is eyeing a stake in 171 Collins Street. The moves show the stabilisation of the top end of the office market, amid greater certainty about bond rates and the diminishing impact of global instability.
Big investors are betting that the top end of the office market will perform, even as lower-grade properties continue to struggle. They are looking to get an exposure to premium assets, with few new towers on the horizon as building costs soar and winning precommitments remains tough.
The Mirvac Wholesale Office Fund, which would house the 50 per cent stakes, is already benefiting from the turnaround. In April, Mirvac said it had raised a further $200m, bringing its total raising to $630m over 12 months, with another $175m of secondary unit sales completed.
The $7bn fund, of which Mirvac won control four years ago when it was prized out of the AMP Capital empire, is expected to chase more capital once it locks down the deal.
The fund has interests in 11 prime-grade assets across Sydney and Melbourne. They include stakes in 33 Alfred Street and Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney. It also has stakes in Darling Park Towers 1 & 2 in Sydney and it owns 55 Collins Street in Melbourne.
The parties and Ray White Commercial’s Ian Hetherington, who is handling the off-market sales, declined to comment.
The landmark 5 Martin Place tower in the heart of Sydney’s CBD is worth about $600m. Cbus Property took full control of the complex in 2024 after buying out a 50 per cent interest held by the Dexus office partnership.
The tower on the corner of Martin Place and Pitt Street houses financial groups. In the building’s development, there was a major reconfiguration of the existing heritage component, nine levels of premium office space were added, and the historic Rowe Street laneway was restored.
The 33,860sq m building has floor plates from the ground level of about 2400sq m, while new levels 11 to 19 each span about 1090sq m.
In Melbourne, the Mirvac-run fund is targeting the purchase of the Collins Street tower that houses BHP’s 30,000sq m headquarters in Melbourne. Cbus Property and Charter Hall developed the tower in 2013 in what was the first premium-grade office development at the blue-chip “Paris end” of Collins Street in two decades.
The complex includes a 17-storey Bates Smart-designed tower and a redevelopment of the historic Mayfair Building fronting Collins Street.
Cbus Property and Charter Hall in 2022 secured a seven-year lease extension with BHP, spanning more than 5000sq m of office space.
The pair undertook a full refurbishment of the building’s end-of-trip facilities, a ground floor lobby activation, and installed a new business lounge.
Read related topics:Mirvac Group
Ben WilmotCommercial Property Editor