Ross Makris launches Interstellar Capital, targets shopping centres

Adelaide property identity Ross Makris is looking to capitalise on the shopping centre sell off via a new fund backed by local and overseas investors.

Ross Makris has launched Interstellar Capital. Picture: Mark Brake

Adelaide property identity Ross Makris is looking to capitalise on the sell off of major shopping centres by the large retail property trusts via the launch of a new private property fund backed by a group of local and overseas investors.

Mr Makris’s latest real estate play, Interstellar Capital, will initially target regional and sub-regional centres across Australia, while also exploring opportunities in prestige retail, luxury hotels and development projects.

A board led by Adelaide lawyer Christopher Townsend has been assembled as the company scours the market for opportunities.

Mr Makris, who will begin a national roadshow with potential investors in the coming weeks, said investors in Australia and Southeast Asia were already on board, and were ready to deploy capital on “institutional assets” via Interstellar Capital funds.

“It’s a new company, it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for several years,” he said.

“A lot of the institutions are shying away from the larger shopping centres, due to the lack of discretionary spending, and a number of institutions have had a run on their funds by retail investors. The LPTs (listed property trusts) which dominate this industry need liquidity, so we see a lot of opportunity for at least the next two to three years.”

Interstellar Capital’s entry into the market comes amid a flurry of major shopping centre transactions across the country, including in Mr Makris’s home city, where Scentre Group and Barrenjoey recently teamed up to acquire stakes in two Westfield centres from Dexus - Tea Tree Plaza and West Lakes.

Scentre Group partnered with Barrenjoey to purchase a 50 per cent share in Westfield Tea Tree Plaza.

Meanwhile investment group MA Financial is seeking offers of more than $130m for the Arndale Shopping Centre in Adelaide amid a recovery in demand from investors looking to capitalise on the rebounding retail property market.

Mr Makris followed his father Con into the property game, co-founding Precision Group - the retail property giant now run by former business partner Shaun Bonett - in 1995, before establishing Makris Corporation in 2005 and stints with the family business.

He was reported as being the nation’s richest man under 40 by The Australian newspaper in 2009, with a net worth of $420m.

Mr Makris said he was looking to draw on his 37 years of experience in the property industry, and would co-invest and be a major shareholder in each asset acquired by Interstellar Capital, which was in talks with several groups for its first acquisition.

“My entrepreneurial spirit has never been stronger and I have this desire to build something new,” he said.

“I have a real passion for retail - to me it’s like a living, breathing organism. I love the social interactivity with people, with tenants, the marketing, the positioning - it’s something that has to continuously be adapted, monitored and maintained.

“E-commerce has changed everything and I think Covid accelerated that change. Institutions and owners have had to adapt and they’re now building entertainment precincts, restaurants, hospitality amenities, as a way of trying to induce more people, increase visitations and build on the location.

“They’ve been doing a lot of that overseas, and I think we’ll see more of that in Australia.”