Japanese and Singaporean groups are spearheading the renewed investment push, with offshore groups increasingly looking to partner with local investors on the ground as they look to gain exposure to Sydney’s blue chip office market.

Analysis undertaken by international property firm Knight Frank reveals Dexus, Lendlease and Mirvac are among the largest CBD landlords, based on total floor area across their portfolios, while Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, American asset managers Brookfield and Blackstone, and Canadian pension funds CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) Investment Board and OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) also feature prominently on the list.

Knight Frank head of capital markets Michael Kwok said that compared to other Australian cities, Sydney had a large proportion of office towers under shared ownership between two or more groups, often including an overseas investor.

“The largest asset owners are the major domestic fund managers including Dexus, Lendlease, Charter Hall and Mirvac, although their assets are often held in conjunction with offshore investors,” he said.

“Over the past decade we have seen offshore capital become a more dominant driver of the Sydney market. This is reflected in significant ownerships held by the likes of GIC, CPPIB, OMERS, and many other offshore investors deploying capital via the major domestic fund managers.

“However, over this period we have also witnessed a transition in the source of offshore capital. Ten years ago, investors from the United States and China were very active, but in recent years we have seen them become less acquisitive and in their place we have seen more appetite from Singapore and Japan.”

Australia’s office market is still recovering from the pandemic and the resulting shift to hybrid working, which has jittered many investors.

However Mr Kwok said that over the past year there had been a “resurgence” in investment activity in the Sydney market, which offered tax advantages for offshore buyers when compared to competing cities like Melbourne and Brisbane.

“The shift to hybrid working generated a lot of uncertainty in office markets globally, including in Sydney, in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic,” he said.

“Investor confidence is returning, aided by the RBA’s move to cut interest rates.

“Investors from within the Asia Pacific region are often motivated by Australia’s strong population growth, which compares favourably with other cities across the region, and by Sydney’s key role as a financial and professional services hub which ensures strong tenant demand.

“Sydney is one of the world’s most sought after destinations for real estate investment, due to its combination of depth, liquidity, transparency and track record of growth over the long-term.”

Property Council NSW executive director Katie Stevenson described Sydney as “Australia’s largest and most globally connected” office market, but said more could be done to attract more capital.

“Sydney continues to attract institutional interest, though capital deployment has slowed due to global economic uncertainty and higher funding costs,” she said.

“Long-term drivers – including consistent population growth, infrastructure investment and Sydney’s position as a regional business hub – continue to underpin its appeal.

“To lift investor interest, the focus should be on streamlining planning pathways and enhancing the CBD’s attractiveness through better public realm investment and activation initiatives.”

Sydney’s biggest landlords:

DEXUS

The ASX-listed real estate heavyweight co-owns most of its Sydney properties with investor partners.

Dexus is Australia’s biggest office landlord, and claims to actively manage an Australasian real estate and infrastructure portfolio valued at $50.1bn,

In Sydney, its holdings include part-ownership of the Australia Square complex on George St, 1 Bligh St, and Gateway at 1 Macquarie Place, which is one of the few wholly-owned assets in its portfolio of 16 buildings.

The company recently reported a profit of $136.1m for 2024-25, a sharp contrast to the $1.58bn loss it racked up the previous year, on the back of hefty writedowns against its property portfolio.

LENDLEASE

The multinational construction and real estate giant retains a major stake in the International Towers precinct at Barangaroo after spearheading its development. The company houses its headquarters within Tower 3.

Other properties in its Sydney portfolio include a 30-storey office tower at 175 Liverpool St, which it plans to transform into a $2.5bn residential tower.

Outside of Australia, Lendlease has helped deliver some of the world’s most recognised real estate including Elephant Park in London, Singapore’s Paya Lebar Quarter and New York’s Claremont Hall.

MIRVAC

The ASX-listed property developer and investor retains interests in 11 office towers in Sydney, making it one of the city’s biggest landlords. Most of its properties are held in joint ventures with other investors.

It holds interests in several towers along George and Market streets, including the home of accounting giant EY at 200 George St.

Mirvac is leading a field of rival property managers eyeing off Lendlease’s flagship Australian property funds empire, and recently secured Japan’s Mitsubishi Estates Asia as a backer for its $2.3bn mixed-use Harbourside precinct in Darling Harbour.

CHARTER HALL

One of biggest property investors and developers in Australia, Charter Hall and its funds have a large presence in Australia’s largest capital cities including Sydney.

The ASX-listed property giant’s portfolio includes its $4bn Chifley two-tower precinct, jointly owned with GIC, as well as towers on Martin Place, Pitt St and Shelley St.

Sydney-based Charter Hall has been headed up by industry veteran David Harrison for 21 years.

GIC

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC is among the largest offshore investors in Australian real estate, and has a strong penetration in Sydney’s blue chip office market.

It holds a stake in the International Towers precinct at Barangaroo, and is partnering with Charter Hall on the development of the Chifley two-tower precinct.

GIC was established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves, and oversees investments in more than 40 countries.

BROOKFIELD

The US-based global asset management giant is among the largest offshore investors in Sydney’s office market, with interests in seven buildings, including multiple holdings along George and Goulbourn streets.

It houses its Australia head office in its flagship Brookfield Place tower adjacent to Wynyard Station.

Brookfield’s Sydney towers are part of a broad Australian portfolio of assets across real estate, infrastructure and private equity.

It has assets and businesses in more than 30 countries around the world, and recently moved its head office from Toronto to New York.

ISPT

The superannuation-backed property fund manager recently sold a $230m office building in North Sydney, but it remains one of the largest owners of office towers in the CBD.

ISPT, a subsidiary of IFM Investors, was established in 1994 by some of Australia’s leading industry superannuation funds, and has since grown into a $20bn portfolio of properties across Australia.

In Sydney it retains ownership across eight office buildings including multiple holdings on George and Pitt streets.

GPT

Better known as an owner, manager and developer of retail assets, GPT has stakes in seven office buildings in Sydney, including a trio of towers at the Darling Park precinct, where it shares ownership with Mirvac.

The ASX-listed property group also has a stake in the Australia Square complex, alongside Dexus, and recently announced it was moving its head office to Citigroup Centre on Park St, which it owns alongside co-investor Charter Hall.

CPP (Canadian Pension Plan) INVESTMENT BOARD

The Canadian pension giant has been directly investing in Australia for more than 15 years, investing in real estate, farmland, infrastructure, private equity and investment funds.

It has been a long-time investor with Lendlease in projects such as Barangaroo, dating back to 2012, and it retains an interest in towers two and three at the waterfront precinct.

Other office holdings in Sydney include several properties on Pitt St, including the retail and office complex at 175 Pitt St, home to Tiffany & Co.

AUSTRALIANSUPER

The super fund shares ownership in each of its six office buildings in Sydney with co-investors, including multiple holdings on George St, as well as Westpac Place on Kent St, which it co-owns with Mirvac.

AustralianSuper owns stakes in significant property projects across the world including a portion of London’s Canada Water Masterplan and the King’s Cross Estate redevelopment, plus major Australian logistics facilities like Moorebank Logistics Park.

INVESTA

The real estate investment manager, developer and operator has $14bn of assets under management, including office buildings across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

It is partly owned by Oxford Properties, a subsidiary of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees.

Investa, headed up by Peter Menegazzo, has stakes in eight office towers in Sydney, including multiple holdings on George St and Martin Place.

OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System)

Last year OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, celebrated its 10th anniversary of investment operations in Australia.

Since opening an office in Sydney in 2014, OMERS has invested billions of dollars into Australian infrastructure, office, residential and industrial real estate. That includes investments made through subsidiary Oxford Properties, which partly owns Australian real estate group Investa.

In Sydney, it has stakes in five office towers, including on Clarence, Castlereagh and Kent streets.

HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority)

Hong Kong’s central bank made arguably its biggest splash in Sydney’s property market a decade ago when it acquired a stake in Lendlease’s Barangaroo development. It retains an interest in Tower 1 at the waterfront precinct, which is home to financial and professional services giants HSBC and PwC.

CIC (Chinese Investment Corporation)

China’s largest sovereign wealth fund, CIC, has around $2tn in assets under management globally. In Sydney it has stakes in five office towers, including 400 George St, which it shares with Mirvac, and 255 Elizabeth St, which it picked up a decade ago as part of a portfolio acquisition of nine office towers across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

BLACKSTONE

The US asset management giant oversees a vast portfolio of commercial real estate across Australia, and has also ventured into other industries as part of a growing Australian business.

Late last year it completed a $24bn acquisition of data centre owner AirTrunk in the largest business transaction recorded in Australia in 2024.

That followed its acquisition of Crown Resorts in 2022 amid a shake up of Australia’s gambling sector.

In the Sydney office market, it has stakes in four buildings, including 85 Castlereagh St, home to investment banking giant JPMorgan.

Source: Ownership data for the Sydney CBD has been collated by Knight Frank’s research team, predominantly using Real Capital Analytics (RCA) data. The top ownership list has been calculated according to NLA. For consistency, assets with part ownership have been attributed to the main owner, rather than wholesale investors with part ownership. Due largely to complexities in ownerships, particularly part-ownerships, this list cannot be relied upon as being 100 per cent accurate, but will give an understanding of the ownership landscape.

Disclaimer: Although high standards have been used in the preparation of the information, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted by Knight Frank Australia Pty Ltd for any loss or damage resultant from any use of, reliance on or reference to this information. As general information, this material does not necessarily represent the view of Knight Frank Australia Pty Ltd in relation to particular properties or projects.