The marketing agents, Mark Witheriff, James Branch and Tania Moore of Knight Frank, undertook a broad-based Expressions of Interest marketing campaign which uncovered a wave of new investors into the city. The property was finally purchased by Melbourne-based investment group Peak Equities headed by Mr Tom Borsky on behalf of a syndicate of investors.

 

This is the second acquisition this year by Peak Equities, with their previous investment being the Sykes building at 183 Varsity Parade, Varsity Lakes which it acquired in February for just under $9 million. 

 

The property is situated on a 1,656sqm site on the major Southport thoroughfare of Scarborough Street. Bartercard House features 3,158sqm of office space with a two-level basement for 83 cars. The major tenant which occupies the second and third floor, being Bartercard, is secured on a long-term lease to the end of 2023. Other tenants within the building include the real estate office of PRD Southport together with the law firm Senior Legal.

 

Mr Witheriff of Knight Frank said that Southport had seen a significant amount of activity from investors over the last 12 months and the recently refurbished Bartercard House was quickly identified as a prime investment opportunity within the CBD. With Bartercard as the major tenant, the property was readily identifiable as an opportunity to acquire a prime investment with a strong cashflow secured by the long-term tenant and a WALE of 5.94 years (by area). 

 

Tania Moore said that although there is some vacancy on the ground floor there has been strong interest in Southport across all business sectors and she was confident that the building would be fully leased within the foreseeable future. 

 

The office market in Southport continues to tighten Tania said and we expect that this trend will continue in the foreseeable future.

 

Southport's recent designation as a “Priority Development Area” (PDA), the underlying land value for the building would suggest that there is potential in the future as a major redevelopment site for a mixed use, retail/commercial and residential tower Mr Branch said and there is no doubt that Peak Equities has the benefit of enjoying a strong cash flow but the future potential of a redevelopment opportunity somewhere down the track. 

 

 

 

END

 

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Mark Witheriff, Joint Managing Director 

Mark.Witheriff@au.knightfrank.com +61 439 038 100 

 

Tania Moore, Joint Managing Director 

Tania.Mooore@au.knightfrank.com +61 439 034 025

 

James Branch, Director Commercial Sales 

James.Branch@au.knightfrank.com +61 412 594 551

 

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy. Headquartered in London, Knight Frank, together with its US alliance partner, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, operate from 370 offices, in 55 countries, across six continents and has over 12,000 employees. The Group advises clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors and corporate tenants. For further information about the Company, please visit www.knightfrank.com.