Mercatus Dexus Australia Partnership, a new joint venture between Australian real estate group Dexus and Singapore’s Mercatus Co-operative Limited, has agreed to acquire a 33.3% interest in 1 Bligh Street, Sydney, an iconic premium-grade, 29-storey building located in Sydney’s Central Business District.
Mercatus will hold an indirect 90% share in the partnership, with Dexus holding the remaining 10%. The joint venture plans to invest in additional office properties in the future.
Dexus is the investment manager of the JV and post-acquisition will continue to manage 1 Bligh Street.
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1 Bligh Street is an iconic premium-grade, 29 storey building located in Sydney’s Central Business District. It is well located in the financial core with good access to transport and other key amenities. The property is 99.5% occupied with a weighted average lease expiry of 5.4 years as at 31 December 2020. Major customers include Clayton Utz, Bloomberg Australia Pty Ltd and the Commonwealth of Australia.
This marks Mercatus’ first acquisition outside of Singapore and its first foray into Australia in partnership with Dexus, Australia’s largest owner and manager of office property.
“This acquisition is part of our strategy to diversify our portfolio and to generate sustainable long-term returns. We are honoured to be able to partner Dexus, one of Australia’s leading real estate groups, in our first direct real estate investment overseas,” said Tan Ser Joo, Mercatus’ Chief Executive Officer.
“This transaction demonstrates the ongoing strength of demand from international institutions for high quality Australian office asset exposure under Dexus platform management,” said Dexus CEO, Darren Steinberg.
