Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC announced yesterday a joint venture partnership with Australia-listed property group Charter Hall to acquire an A-grade office building in western Sydney for an undisclosed sum.
The Jessie Street Centre in Parramatta's central business district (CBD) has a net lettable area of 53,900 sq m, including retail space.
The property is 99.9 per cent occupied with a weighted average lease expiry of 3.9 years. It is mainly leased to the Australian Taxation Office, AMP Services and various New South Wales (NSW) government service tenancies.
Mr David Harrison, managing director and group chief executive of Charter Hall Group, said: "This strategic acquisition further strengthens a well-established 15-year partnership with GIC, which recognises our strong track record of creating institutional quality investment opportunities that we can add value to utilising the second-largest office platform in Australia.
"We are also proud to advance our relationship with the Australian Taxation Office as a major tenant customer, which further increases our exposure to the Australian government, and also the NSW government across our office portfolio."
GIC said the property will benefit from significant developments and infrastructure projects within the precinct. These include Parramatta Square, the recent completion of Stage 1 of WestConnex Motorway, the Parramatta Light Rail project to be completed in 2023, and the recently announced Sydney Metro West rapid rail to the Sydney CBD, which will reduce travel times between the two CBDs.
Mr Lee Kok Sun, chief investment officer of GIC Real Estate, said: "Parramatta is expected to benefit from Sydney's forecast population growth and planned infrastructure enhancements such as a new metro line to the Sydney CBD and a light rail link.
"As a long-term value investor, we are confident this asset will generate resilient, income-driven returns. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with Charter Hall through this transaction and working together to add value to this asset."
