Qantas Lists $500m Sydney Airport Portfolio

Qantas is selling a $500-million-plus parcel of land next to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport which is expected to gain the attention of major institutional investors.

The draw card was the potential $2-billion gross development value of the 14 hectares of industrial and commercially-zoned land in Mascot.

The industrial market in Australia experienced a record-breaking $12 billion in transactions in the past year fuelled by investors looking to diversify into the expanding asset class during the pandemic.

However the airline industry was hard-hit by Covid with Qantas selling the Mascot properties to pay down debts as part of a larger property review from the ASX-listed company.

The review led to Australia’s largest airline company consolidating its rented office spaces and relocating flight simulator training facilities, while retaining its global headquarters at 203 Coward Street, Mascot.

The nearby parcels of land were listed as a freehold sale or 99-year lease, either individually or in-one-line for the sites at 263-273, 273A Coward Street, 62-86 Kent Road, 297 and 350 King Street.

Colliers’ Michael Crombie, Trent Gallagher, Gavin Bishop and Sean Thomson are brokering the international expressions of interest campaign.

Crombie said they had 480 people on the enquiry list and they were yet to launch the sale.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity, it’s unbelievable to be that close to transport and infrastructure,” he said.

“The development sites totalling 98,645sq m offer an unprecedented opportunity to develop a super core, multi-level industrial and logistics estate and institutional grade mixed-use development of commanding scale.”

“There’s also about two hectares of commercial which allows hotels and the like.”

Qantas plan to lease back its 21,795sq m distribution centre for an initial 10-year term with further two, five-year options along with 82,155sq m of industrial land structured on three-year leaseback.

This would create an initial net passing leaseback rental of $10,529,950 per annum while 16,490sq m of B5 business zoned land would be available for immediate development.