Theo Samaras acquires Grenfell Car Park in Adelaide CBD

Adelaide property developer Theo Samaras has snapped up one of the city’s largest multi-deck car parks.

Known as the Grenfell Car Park, next to the Rundle Place shopping centre on Grenfell St, the seven-level, 500-bay complex was offloaded by a fund managed by Growthpoint Properties.

Growthpoint funds management executive director Sam Sproats said the sale was completed at a “slight premium” to book value after it attracted strong interest from investors seeking “defensive assets with secure income streams”. A sale price was not disclosed.

“Grenfell Car Park delivered stable income throughout the investment period and a successful sale outcome on exit. The transaction provides liquidity for investors and represents an outcome consistent with our expectations,” he said.

“The result demonstrated continued demand for well-leased assets underpinned by resilient cash-flows.”

Growthpoint is also looking for buyers to take over the Rundle Place shopping and entertainment complex, which was listed for sale through CBRE and JLL earlier this year.

The car park deal was brokered by Knight Frank’s Ryan Mills and Max Frohlich, in conjunction with Ian Thomas and Alistair Laycock from CBRE.

Selling agents declined to comment on price or purchaser, but property records reveal the car park was acquired by Theo Samaras via his Kyren Group development business.

Mr Samaras is one of Adelaide’s most prolific developers, spearheading some of the city’s largest office building projects, including most recently a 21,000sq m tower on Franklin St.

Grenfell Car Park generates $3.8m in annual net income under a long-term lease to Secure Parking, a subsidiary of Tokyo-listed Park24 Co.

But the 2416sq m site is also considered a long-term development opportunity given its location in the core of Adelaide’s office district and its proximity to Rundle Mall.

Mr Mills said the car park was regarded as one of the CBD’s strongest-performing car parking facilities, attracting a range of customers including office workers, shoppers and other visitors to the city.

“Grenfell Car Park represented a rare opportunity to acquire a high-performing CBD asset underpinned by a lease to a global operator and highly defensive cash-flow characteristics,” he said.

“The campaign generated strong interest from a broad range of private investors, syndicators and high net worth buyers seeking stable income and long-term capital preservation.”

Grenfell Car Park and the Rundle Place complex were acquired by fund managers Fortius and Irongate in 2021. Growthpoint later assumed an ownership stake following its acquisition of the Fortius platform in 2022.