Buyer tunes into QLD

9 September 2022

Couriermail.com.au

A MELBOURNE-BASED boutique property fund manager has secured its first asset in Brisbane – a character office building that is home to a leading radio station. Vantage Property Investments paid $28.65m for the 1940s built Willoughby and Co Woolstores building at 130 Commercial Rd, Teneriffe. Vantage managing director Matt Spring said they were seeking to expand their portfolio into Queensland. “We were attracted to the point of difference in the character of the Willoughby and Co Woolstores and strongly believe in the occupier demand for assets of this nature,” he said. “Vantage has exciting plans for the property that we believe will add significant value for our investors, really harnessing the heritage attributes and identity of the building.” The building has 4097sq m of character office and retail space occupied by a diverse range of tenants, including NOVA 106.9, Mainbrace and Queensland Government owned screen agency Screen Queensland.

CBRE’s Jack Morrison and Adelaide O’Brien brokered the deal with Cushman & Wakefield’s Mike Walsh, Peter Court and Frederic Le Fanue on behalf of an unlisted fund managed by Centuria Capital Group subsidiary Primewest, which acquired the building in 2018 for just over $19m. The sale realised a yield of 6.37 per cent and according to CoreLogic, it was the fourth sale of the building in almost 11 years. Mr Morrison said the expressions of interest campaign generated six offers and strong inquiry, especially from syndicators and high-net-worth investors. “I think people really liked the character of the building, that it was fully leased with big floorplates,” he said. “This is the first thing Vantage has bought in Brisbane and they’ve been trying to get something up here for a while.”

Vantage’s director of acquisitions and investments Paul Henley said the Teneriffe Urban Renewal precinct was one of the most desirable areas in the city. “It’s a location that Vantage expects will continually grow and thrive in a city we believe has an extremely strong future,” he said.