RetailLindsay SaundersWed 12 Aug 26
Lendlease Wraps Up APPF Retail with $1.3bn Cbus Deal for Qld, WA Centres
Cbus Property has paid $1.3 billion for half-stakes in two major shopping centres in Queensland and Western Australia, expanding its retail portfolio into both markets.
The superannuation-backed property investor has acquired 50 per cent interests in Westfield Carindale in Brisbane [above] and Lakeside Joondalup in Perth from Lendlease’s Australian Prime Property Fund Retail (APPF Retail).
The transaction values the two interests at $1.3 billion and reflects a capitalisation rate of 5.5 per cent.
It follows GPT’s $1.2 billion acquisition of 50 per cent stakes in Sunshine Plaza on the Sunshine Coast and Macarthur Square in Sydney from APPF Retail last month.
The two transactions give Cbus Property the remaining major assets in Lendlease’s retail fund and provide liquidity to investors seeking to exit the vehicle after years of pressure over its future.
Lendlease will remain investment manager for the two centres for about 12 months while the assets transition to Cbus Property.
Westfield Carindale is co-owned with Scentre Group, while Lakeside Joondalup is co-owned with Vicinity Centres.
The acquisitions are Cbus Property’s entry into the Brisbane and Perth retail markets and add two major regional shopping centres to its portfolio, which includes interests in Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast and Sydney’s Macquarie Centre.
Cbus Property chief executive Chris Kakoufas said the acquisitions underscored the group’s confidence in the economic fundamentals of Brisbane and Perth.
He also flagged potential for the centres to evolve into broader mixed-use precincts over time.
“Significant opportunities” existed for long-term precinct evolution, Kakoufas said, given the centres’ roles in their communities.
The deals come as major retail assets attract renewed investor interest despite higher interest rates and softer consumer spending.
Limited new supply of major shopping centres has supported values, while established centres with strong catchments continue to generate relatively defensive income.
The transaction also completes a major reshaping of APPF Retail, which has been under pressure from investor redemption requests.
Lendlease had initially sought to recapitalise the fund and retain its portfolio after successfully resisting an investor campaign to replace it as manager.
The fund subsequently moved towards an orderly asset sell-down, including the $895 million sale of Erina Fair on the NSW Central Coast last year.
Cbus Property had earlier agreed to a broader $2.4 billion recapitalisation transaction covering APPF Retail’s remaining assets, but the subsequent GPT transaction for Sunshine Plaza and Macarthur Square left Carindale and Joondalup as the two major centres available to Cbus.
This latest deal gives Cbus Property exposure to two of Australia’s largest retail markets while retaining the existing co-ownership structures at both centres.
