ISPT Offloads Melbourne GPO in $88m Deal

A historic Melbourne CBD retail centre has changed hands for $88 million. 

ISPT, which is fully owned by global investment management firm IFM Investors, has offloaded the Melbourne General Post Office, at the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke streets, to a consortium.

Privately owned Drivas Property Group reportedly teamed with low-profile property investors in the Dodaro family to acquire the asset. 

Sydney-based Drivas has previously teamed up with the Dodaros for major land amalgamations, including the site Deicorp is now developing a $1.8-billion precinct in Sydney’s Inner West. 

Melbourne GPO is the home of Swedish fashion brand H&M’s first Australian store, which it opened in 2014.

The former post office building initially went to market in 2023 when ISPT put five assets from its ISPT Core Fund portfolio up for sale, saying they “did not align with the fund’s desired scale or sector-allocation goals”.

▲ Initially completed in 1867, the GPO building was added to over the years—two storeys were added in 1907.

Three of the four retail assets ISPT put up for sale have now sold. 

As well as the Melbourne GPO, Halls Head Central in Western Australia was acquired by Centuria in 2024 for $70 million, while Eastgate Bondi Junction was sold to Charter Hall for $126.95 million, also in 2024. 

Only Melbourne’s The Strand remains of the four. 

The sale comes off the back of a stronger year for retail. Deals included 206 Bourke Street, another ISPT asset, which sold for $80 million.

Cushman & Wakefield, who handled the GPO deal, said it was a sign of renewed confidence in the retail transaction market that would continue into 2026.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director, Victoria, Luke Etherington said that private capital remained highly active in 2025.

“However, institutional capital has re-emerged with real conviction, driven by yield stability, improving debt terms and a renewed appetite for defensive retail,” Etherington, who is also head of investment sales, Australia, said. 

“We expect both private and institutional capital to be major drivers of liquidity in 2026.

“Private capital will remain active, but institutional groups, both domestic and offshore are now firmly back in acquisition mode as Australia’s yield premium widens and retail fundamentals strengthen.”