Canberra has had its biggest commercial property sale in history with Charter Hall acquiring Geoscience Australia HQ by way of sale of units in the trust at a price of $363.5 million, reflecting a 7.4 per cent initial yield.
Purpose built by the Commonwealth in 1997, the state-of-the-art Geoscience property is a renowned building of national significance.
Colliers state chief executive ACT Paul Powderly said it was expected the property had the potential to achieve a record sale price.
“The Geoscience Australia HQ is arguably one of a kind. The work conducted there is vital to every Australian. It includes maximising the value to society from Australia’s mineral and energy resources, sustaining our water use and strengthening our resilience to natural hazards,” Mr Powderly said.
Colliers director capital markets and investment services Matthew Winter said Geoscience HQ was an “outstanding investment opportunity”.
“The Geoscience HQ presented an outstanding investment opportunity. It is 100 per cent occupied by the Commonwealth of Australia, and is underpinned by a ‘AAA’ secure, long-term income stream with fixed annual escalations and a 10-year WALE,” Mr Winter said.
Strong interest in this asset was received from a variety of domestic and international capital sources, demonstrating that Canberra continues to appeal globally as an attractive investment destination.
“Charter Hall has shown it recognises the strength of our market and the value it offers investors. This purchase further expands its growing ACT portfolio.”
The building is located on a site of 160,378sqm, and the 32,659sqm NLA facility incorporates specialised laboratory facilities including a geochemistry laboratory, geochronology laboratory, mineral separation laboratory, mass spectrometer facilities and the National Earthquake Alerts Seismic Centre. On-site amenities include 652 parking bays, a childcare centre, end of trip facilities, public gallery, research library, café, and gym.
This transaction was facilitated by Colliers and JLL.
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