Goodman pays $200m for intermodal terminal in Sydney’s southwest

The industrial property heavyweight has snapped up an operating intermodal terminal in Sydney’s southwest, where it remains a big industrial property player despite its recent focus on data centres.

Goodman Group has bought an operating intermodal terminal in Minto in Sydney’s southwest from Qube in a deal worth $200m. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Industrial property heavyweight Goodman Group has snapped an operating intermodal terminal in Minto in Sydney’s southwest from listed company Qube for $200m.

While Qube is exiting, the site must continue to operate as an intermodal, meaning multiple forms of transport, and Goodman, led by billionaire Greg Goodman, will shortly install a third party operator to run the combined intermodal and storage facility.

The site is attractive as it has rail siding, warehousing and container storage facilities and is adjacent to an existing Goodman estate, giving the industrial landlord greater leverage.

Qube will focus the volumes of containers it handles at the massive Moorebank Intermodal Precinct, given that the majority of cranes have been commissioned at the expansive Sydney site. Qube hopes to gain efficiencies from consolidating the sites, which are relatively close to one another.

Goodman Group boss Greg Goodman. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

The latest sale comes after Qube sold a nearby slice of Minto in 2020 to Charter Hall. In that deal, the Charter Hall Prime Industrial Fund and another Charter Hall-managed institutional partnership teamed up to buy a fully leased freehold industrial property spanning 30.6ha for $207m.

Qube said at its results that it had struck a deal to sell assets worth $297.1m, before tax and transaction costs, which included both the Minto sale and a separate disposal of surplus rolling stock. Industry players estimated about $200m accounted for the property sale.

Colliers agents Trent Gallagher and Angus Urquhart brokered the transaction but declined to comment.

The acquisition, which was quietly finalised this month, adjoins Goodman’s Keylink Industrial Estate North. That estate sports high clearance warehouse facilities with good access to Sydney’s motorway network.

Qube said the proceeds from the sales would reduce its future interest expense, with no significant impact on the company’s operational earnings. The company will realise a material non-underlying profit on the Minto property sale but declined to comment further.

Goodman has a history of buying neighbouring properties to create large landholdings. In 2022, it tightened its grip on a major South Sydney site by purchasing the Alexandria Homemaker Centre for about $202m.

It picked up the site from the private Arkadia Property Group, and Goodman’s purchase gave it control of a four hectare site next to its Sydney Corporate Park.

Last November, Goodman also snapped up an industrial estate in the south Sydney suburb of Alexandria, with the $76m purchase locking in its status as the area’s largest ­landlord.

Earlier in the year, Goodman was buying up more south Sydney properties, swooping on a trio of assets for more than $300m in May as it restocked its development pipeline to roll out new hi-tech warehouses.

In those deals, Goodman bought two neighbouring properties that sit next to a site it bought last year from fugitive developer Jean Nassif.

Originally published as Goodman pays $200m for intermodal terminal in Sydney’s southwest