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Commercial property finance

This Month

Lenders are showing more interest in residential construction.

Lenders warm to residential projects as boom looms

A renewed appetite for construction is leading banks to lower their pre-sale requirements for projects, a shift from their previous more conservative stance.

May

The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay has sold for $140 million.

The Beach Hotel in Byron sells for $140m

Scott Didier and his family have purchased The Beach Hotel in Byron Bay for $140 million – the second-largest pub sale in Australia.

Iwan Sunito’s business “success” is front and centre at Green Square Station.

Failed property developer targets commuters with selective CV

It’s the latest in a series of desperate attempts by Iwan Sunito to rebuild his reputation.

Virgin Australia aircraft at Melbourne Airport last year. The airport is one of the busiest in the country.

Dexus wins Melbourne Airport reprieve, says co-investors overreacting

The asset manager will not have to sell its 27 per cent stake in the airport’s owner until the question of whether it breached confidentiality is examined.

Dexus the biggest stake in Australia’s second busiest airport.

Dexus’ Melbourne Airport stake at risk as co-investors cry foul

The $7.8 billion commercial property group could be forced to sell its prized stake in the airport, an asset held in Australian superannuation funds.

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Liquidators have been appointed for Iwan Sunito’s person vehicle that holds most of his Crown Group stake.

‘Invest like a billionaire’: Sunito’s cash dash to save Crown fortune

Crown Group co-founder Iwan Sunito is raising capital in his native Indonesia as his personal vehicle, which holds a substantial portion of his wealth, goes insolvent.

Commercial property might be a safe haven.

Looking for a safer bet ‘with upside’ during the Trump trade war?

The turmoil following “liberation day” sent global investors on a hunt for safe markets. Australian property may provide a welcome home.

New funder: Western United’s home ground in Melbourne’s far western Tarneit, has a new investor that says it will push development plans for the 62-hectare site.

A-League’s Western United rescued by US investor

US-based Maciek Kaminiski will help the club progress its plans for a multipurpose development, including a new stadium in western Melbourne’s Tarneit.

Public Hospitality Group founder Jon Adgemis, pictured at the Australian Open last year. He is living at the home of Caledonia’s Will Vicars.

Adgemis fights bankruptcy while holed up in a billionaire’s Bondi pad

The former KPMG dealmaker turned pub owner has lost a key court battle and is trying to stave off eviction from his family’s home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

April

Home games: a Socceroo, a subdivision and the unpaid super

A struggling plan to bankroll an A-League club with an ambitious residential development is emblematic of the financial challenges facing Australian soccer.

JLL’s capital markets business is sans debt advisory in Australia and New Zealand.

Commercial property group JLL shutters local debt advisory unit

Street Talk understands at least three staff have left the commercial real estate giant to “pursue new opportunities”.

‘Rebound is here’: Office funds post first positive return in 2 years

Signs of a recovery are emerging for the battered office sector where high interest rates and the popularity of hybrid work have dragged down valuations.

MRCB International has secured development approval for Maris, a $200 million, 20-storey, 192-unit apartment tower at 20 Queen Street in Southport, QLD. 

Gold Coast developers ‘right-sizing’ projects amid construction crunch

MRCB International is focusing on a high-end 20-storey project which it says will be easier to get off the ground at a time when builders are harder to find.

Former Virtical director and twice bankrupt John Palasty said the payments to his wife were to repay loans she had made to the business.

More than $700k sent to director’s wife in alleged $120m GST scam

The wife of one of the directors of collapsed pub empire Virtical told examinations she had no memory of the more than 20 transactions sent from the company.

Walking the talk: Sentinel Property Group chief executive Warren Ebert travelled to Japan last month seeking capital to buy under-valued office properties in Brisbane and expects to go back “every six weeks” until he completes his first deal.

Sentinel takes Brisbane office property deals to Japan

The commercial real estate investor is seeking capital for the first time overseas in a change of pace for the Queensland company.

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Investing in the future: Mitsui Fudosan last year paid $1.3 billion for a two-thirds stake in Mirvac’s planned 55 Pitt Street tower.

Real estate now takes 1 in 5 Japanese deals – and it’s growing

At a time of global uncertainty, Australian real estate is finding its perfect match in Japanese investors seeking stable revenue and capital growth.

James Zhang’s Ferrari SF90 Stradale worth $1 million.

The secret Ferrari fire sale while dozens are out of pocket

James Zhang lived large. Is he now about to sail off into the sunset?

March

Former Virtical directors Mark Toma and John Palasty outside court.

Players in alleged $200m GST scam turn on each other in court

Each of the two former directors of pub-owning company Virtical say the other was responsible for invoices that could reveal the biggest GST tax fraud in Australia’s history if proven.

iProsperity’s Michael Gu fled the country in 2020, leaving behind defrauded investors and large debts.

Yorkway Private raises $10m for One Investment to sweep away iProsperity

One Investment Group was tangled up in one of Australia’s biggest frauds. Now, former AMP chief executive Paul Batchelor’s Yorkway Private offers a way out.

Joe Longo, the chairman of corporate regulator ASIC, which has warned there would be “more failures in private credit investments, and Australian investors will lose money”.

ASIC demands answers from private credit as it beefs up surveillance

ASIC has given a select group of private credit funds until mid next month to explain how they value assets, manage conflicts and look after its investors’ interests.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/commercial-property-finance-hvv