Frasers Property, Sekisui House JV sells 3 Australia retail assets for A$174.5m

FRASERS Property Australia, together with its joint venture partner Sekisui House Australia, has sold three retail assets in their mixed-use Central Park project for A$174.5 million (S$162.4 million).

The three freehold retail assets - Central Park Mall, DUO Retail and Park Lane Retail - have a combined gross leasable area of 14,600 square metres, and are being sold to a consortium comprising Fortius Funds Management and SC Capital Partners Group on behalf of its Recap V Fund.

The A$2 billion Central Park project is located in Sydney's central business district, with Central Park Mall being the largest of the three assets.

The mall opened in late 2013 and houses a mix of entertainment, fashion and experiential retailers along with an alfresco dining precinct.

The Central Park precinct's customer traffic and sales have grown 33 per cent and 56 per cent respectively since 2014, said the joint venture firms.

Frasers and Sekisui House had put the retail assets up for sale in April, and had expected to bag more than A$170 million through the deal - which meant the final sale price was in line with expectations.

The assets were sold by Colliers International following an international expressions of interest exercise that Frasers said attracted substantial interest.

The sale is the final component of the partnership's divestment strategy as its 12-year Central Park development nears completion, said both companies.

Mick Caddey, Frasers Property Australia's development director, said the sale is a prime example of the joint venture's strategy to realise core assets developed in the Central Park community.

Frasers Property shares closed up S$0.02 or 1.1 per cent to S$1.76 on Wednesday.