Property group Stockland capped off a busy year for office sales in Perth, with the sale of a 50 per cent interest in Exchange Plaza for $157.7 million, taking the total value of CBD office sales for the year to an unusually large $1.05 billion.
The Exchange Plaza stake was sold to AMP Capital Wholesale Office Fund.
Stockland CEO commercial property John Schroder said it was an excellent result, crystallising the increase in asset value over the past year.
“By selling the asset now, we have benefited from the appetite for quality office property in the Perth market,” he said in a statement.
The sale price was at a premium of $7.7 million to June 2011 book value.
The Exchange Plaza sale followed the sale of Stockland’s 50 per cent interest in Bankwest Tower in July, for $130 million.
That was part of an asset swap with Brookfield, which moved to full ownership of Bankwest Tower while selling two residential developments in Perth’s north-east to Stockland for $271 million.
Other major CBD office transactions last year included Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation’s purchase of 50 per cent of QV.1 Tower for $310 million, GDI’s purchase of 197 St Georges Tce for $152 million and Motor Accident Commission of SA’s purchase of 225 Adelaide Tce for $103 million.
