Link private funds snaps up Sydney warehouse for $121m
One of the region’s largest property players has made a move on a warehouse in western Sydney but it is using a new source of capital.
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The private funds arm of Hong-based Link REIT has struck its first deal in Australia, snapping up a warehouse in Sydney’s western suburbs from a Dexus venture.
The Asian company’s new private funds business, Link Real Estate Partners, is set to emerge as the buyer of 149 Orchard Road, Chester Hill.
The under-development property, in which Dexus has a 50 per cent share alongside its opportunistic fund DREP1, was sold for $121.5m. The project will have four warehouses with adjoining mezzanine offices, across a total of 24,100sq m of gross lettable area.
The deal was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield’s Tony Iuliano and Adrian Rowse, but they declined to comment. The sale is conditional on an acceptable environmental management plan and practical completion, both expected to occur by late August.
The sale is expected to contribute about $9m pre-tax trading profits for Dexus in fiscal 2026.
Link REIT is already a major investor in Australia.
In 2021 in the largest deal for city retail assets after the pandemic, the Hong Kong-listed vehicle snapped up half stakes in three of the country’s best-known shopping centres – The Queen Victoria Building, The Galeries and the Strand Arcade – in the heart of Sydney for $538.2m.
A year later, Link REIT unveiled a deal to take an interest in a collection of the country’s top buildings being sold by Canada’s Oxford Properties Group. The group entered a joint venture with Oxford in the Investa Gateway Office venture, which consists of an office portfolio worth more than $2.3bn. Link took a 49.9 per cent interest while Oxford kept a 50.1 per cent interest.
The latest move could see the company look to expand its fledgling private arm into Australia as part of a strategy targeting advanced Asia-Pacific markets. The Hong Kong-based company is well positioned as it has a two-decade record in investing across Asia.
Former BlackRock head of Asia Pacific real estate head John Saunders is leading the venture, in addition to being Link Asset Management’s chief investment officer. The company has flagged plans to grow the private operations alongside its balance sheet as it moves towards an “asset light” model, but has declined to comment.
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Originally published as Link private funds snaps up Sydney warehouse for $121m
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