The operator of Perth's biggest fresh food trading hub has banked a $21 million profit courtesy of a sharp rise in the value of the unlisted public company's property holdings.
Former Skilled Group executive David Timmel has been appointed to the top job at Perth Markets, the newly formed company that has acquired the Perth Market Authority's Market City.
The state government has completed the first in a series of planned asset sales, announcing that it has concluded negotiations with an industry consortium to purchase the Perth Market Authority's Market City.
The state government's asset sales program has taken a step forward today, with Gresham Advisory Partners appointed as lead adviser for the partial sale of Keystart's loan book.
An industry consortium led by members of the Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries in WA has been selected as the preferred bidder for Market City, putting the state government a step closer to its first major asset sale.
Approval has been granted for the first in a series of state government asset sales, with legislation to sell Market City passing parliament after a debate that went until almost dawn.
Kerry Stokes' private company and three property investors are among five bidders shortlisted for the privatisation of Perth's major fruit and vegetable market, which includes the largest land development site in Canning Vale.
The Perth Market Authority's Market City is set to be the first major transaction in the state government's asset recycling program, as expressions of interest in the fruit and vegetable wholesaler closed with a number of potential bidders.