Superannuation fund UniSuper is set to expand its industrial property portfolio with the recent acquisition of a 13-hectare property in Yarraville, Victoria.
The $105 million deal was deemed a “rare infill redevelopment opportunity in a prime industrial market close to the Port of Melbourne”, expected to benefit from major projects nearby like the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal project and the West Gate Tunnel.
“We are very pleased with this acquisition which we believe when fully redeveloped will be very attractive to industrial and logistics occupiers and an excellent addition to our $6.3 billion unlisted property portfolio,” said Nick Stephens, senior manager property at UniSuper.
“We intend to redevelop the property over the medium term into a modern infill logistics estate and look forward to considering additional opportunities to grow our industrial property portfolio further.”
The acquisition of the property at 1-7 Cawley Road, Yarraville was facilitated by real estate investment management firm Richmond Bridge, as part of a new advisory mandate to build an industrial property portfolio across major Australian capital cities over time.
Richmond Bridge would provide investment and asset advisory services for the Yarraville asset and HB&B Property will provide development management services.
Pete Wylie, founding partner and CIO of Richmond Bridge stated, “We are grateful for the trust and backing that UniSuper has put into Richmond Bridge. We have the right team and structure to deliver exceptional service to UniSuper as we assist them to build out a market leading industrial property portfolio.”
According to Kurt Beckhaus, managing director of HB&B Property, the Yarraville property was an “ideal asset” to seed a strategic affiliation.
“We also know the UniSuper team very well and are excited to be able to partner with them as they build out a high-quality portfolio,” he added.
