City site sold for $4.6m
February 4, 2021
A BRISBANE-based fund manager says the outfit will continue to buy property in Townsville as it adds another major asset to its $100m portfolio in the city.
Sentinel Property Group has acquired a tenanted highend industrial site in Mount St John for $4.63m to add to its retail centres and major office buildings.
It comes as other big deals are finalised ahead of the Christmas break including the sale of a prominent office building in Walker Street by Colliers International.
Sentinel executive chairman and chief investment officer Warren Ebert said it would continue to buy in the city as long as the assets were worthwhile. He said the returns on property were better here than in the metropolitan centres.
“Sentinel has more than $100m of assets in Townsville and we are looking for more to add to our portfolio,” Mr Ebert said.
“We are heavily invested in North Queensland, which we believe is a region with a fantastic decade ahead of it. Townsville, in particular, is a city that has fared well during the pandemic.”
The Mount St John property at 99-109 Crocodile Crescent was acquired at passing yield of 7.51 per cent. The sale was negotiated by Glenn Conridge from Burgess Rawson.
It is leased to the Australian Steel Company, which recently took a five-year lease.
The 14,587 sqm property has a substantial concrete and gravel hardstand, a 3000 sqm concrete tilt panel warehouse with two 5 tonne gantry cranes and 300 sqm office.
Meanwhile, Colliers has reported the seven-level tower in 22 Walker Street has been sold.
The building has tenants including Westpac, Findex, AON and the Queensland government.
It is the Townsville agency’s third big office building deal this year after having sold the 12-level Verde building in 445 Flinders Street for $92.8m and the Rabobank building in Stanley Street for $10.9m earlier this year. Sentinel, which also owns the Adani office building in South Townsville, was the buyer of the Stanley Street building.
Established in 2010, Brisbane-based Sentinel has a total national portfolio of more than 55 retail, industrial, office, land, tourism infrastructure and agribusiness assets with a total value in excess of $1.18bn.
The Mount St John purchase will be added to its Sentinel Industrial Trust which includes assets in Mackay, Townsville, Brisbane, Mayfield in Newcastle and Tuggerah on the NSW Central Coast.