Hines Global REIT acquired its first Australian property, an office building at 144 Montague Road in Brisbane, from Empirica Management Ltd. Hines paid $91.6 million for the asset.
The class-A, 158,682-sq.-ft. six-story office building was completed in 2009. Ausenco Ltd., a publicly traded engineering and project management firm, occupies 100 percent of the space under a lease that will remain valid through 2021. Australia-based Challenger Management Services manages the asset.
“We believe this well-located asset in the fast-growing submarket of South Brisbane will be a great addition to our portfolio,” said Hines Global REIT President and CEO Charles Hazen in a statement. “In addition to being newly constructed and having a high-quality tenant, 144 Montague offers us the opportunity to diversify by investing in a country with a stable and growing economy. Australia is an attractive market for us for many reasons, including its transparent real estate markets and cap rates that have yet to compress as they have in the U.S. and Europe.”
In conjunction with the deal, David Warneford, a director with Hines, relocated from the firm’s Abu Dhabi office to Sydney and established an office in Australia Square.