Rest has expanded its exposure to Australian industrial and commercial property after acquiring a significant minority stake in Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport, adding another large-scale real asset to its growing unlisted property portfolio.
The profit-to-member superannuation fund acquired a one-third stake in the airport as part of a consortium led by Barings, which has settled the purchase of the 294-hectare site from Goodman Group.
The landholding comprises diversified industrial, office, aviation and retail assets across Melbourne’s southeast.
Rest’s head of investments, real assets, Andrew Bambrook, said the acquisition aligned with the fund’s strategy of generating long-term returns for its more than two million members through high-quality real assets offering diversified income and future development opportunities.
“The opportunity to acquire a suburban airport in a major Australian city is relatively rare. They are typically tightly held by investors for long periods, so we are pleased to acquire this stake in Moorabbin Airport on behalf of our members,” Bambrook said.
He said the airport would provide “strong, defensive income streams” within Rest’s diversified portfolio, supported by a broad tenant base spanning manufacturing, logistics, retail, business services and aviation.
“The total landholding features a strong mix of tenants in manufacturing, logistics retail and business services, including Kingston Central Plaza, as well as the aviation precinct with its significant flight training and maintenance operations.
“The airport is ideally located in southeast Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s largest manufacturing workforce and is one of the tightest industrial markets in the country, with vacancy rates below long-term averages.
“It also features good access to key transport corridors, supporting both domestic and international connectivity. With these characteristics, we expect Moorabbin Airport to benefit from the global deglobalisation trend and continued onshoring and diversification of supply chains.”
The Moorabbin Airport estate includes more than 670,000 square metres of gross lettable area anchored by five prime-grade industrial precincts, with multiple development sites expected to deliver additional space over time.
Under the transaction, Barings has been appointed investment manager, property services manager and development manager.
The acquisition builds on Rest’s existing partnership with Barings, which has included investments in Access Logistics Park in Sydney’s south west, a 12-asset industrial portfolio across Sydney and Melbourne, and an industrial estate in Truganina.
