PriceSensitive

Abacus (ASX:ABP) grabs one-third interest in Myer’s Bourke St building

Commercial, Real Estate
ASX:ABP
01 July 2021 13:00 (AEST)

Myer on Bourke Street, Melbourne

Abacus Property Group (ABP) has exchanged contracts to acquire a one-third interest in Myer’s Bourke Street property for $135.2 million.

It joins Charter Hall Long WALE REIT who also nabbed a one-third interest in the property as tenants in common for $135.2 million. The remaining one-third is retained by Vicinity, the property manager.

The $135.2 million price tag reflects a cost of $10,157 per square metre of gross lettable area (GLA) and a passing yield of six per cent, according to Abacus, with its interest to be funded by debt.

The deal represents a discount on the $151.3 million agreement global funds management TH Real Estate paid for the Myer family’s one-third share in the Bourke Street property in 2016.

In Myer’s half-year results, total sales were down 13.1 per cent, thanks in part to the closure of large stores such as the Bourke Street property, with Myer CBD sales down 32 per cent.

Abacus managing director Steven Sewell said it is pleasing to be able to take advantage of this intergenerational opportunity with longer-term repositioning potential.

“This transaction aligns with our strategic priority of acquiring commercial assets in select locations where we see amenity and infrastructure improvements that we believe will ultimately translate to strong tenant demand,” he said.

“With the potential for a degree of repositioning, this is a great opportunity for the group, together with its partners, to implement active asset management plans and drive superior returns from the asset.”

The building enjoys a 61-metre frontage on Bourke Street Mall and nine floors of retail space covering about 40,000 square metres of GLA.

The building is fully leased to Myer with a weighted average lease expiry of 10.5 years.

Abacus is up 1.90 per cent on the market with shares trading at $3.21 at 12:38 pm AEST.

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