Quintessential Pays $175m for Green Square North Tower

Commercial specialist Quintessential has acquired Brisbane’s Green Square North Tower, paying a discounted $174.85 million for the A-Grade office asset. The 12-storey tower was refurbished in 2021 and offers 23,674sq m of space rated 5.5-Star NABERS and 6-Star Green Star. The tower at 515 St Pauls Terrace is 200m from the Fortitude Valley train station and has 167 parking spaces. The Fortitude Valley commercial tower is fully tenanted, with 80 per cent of those leases held by government on long tenures. According to Quintessential, the deal was a 53 per cent discount to the replacement cost of $370 million. Chief executive Justin Mills said that the tower was “exactly the type of property we target: high tenant demand, well-located, below replacement cost and in a market with tightening supply”. “Brisbane is currently the strongest office market in the country, tenant demand is high, and new supply is limited,” he said. “With our industry-leading 91 per cent tenant retention, we see immediate potential to renew expiring tenants, extend what is currently a relatively short WALE and capture the uplift in rents. That’s how we create value.” Quintessential described its strategy as counter-cyclical and focused on property regeneration before exiting to secure investor returns. The company has $1.7 billion of property under management nationally. Its portfolio in Brisbane includes 240 Queen Street in the CBD and offices at 643 Kessels Road at Upper Mount Gravatt. In 2023, Quintessential bought Sydney’s 1 Margaret Street for $293 million, revealing plans for a $65-million renovation in 2024 . The fund is also active in industrial—a refurbished Port Adelaide Distribution Centre was recently sold by Quintessential for a South Australian sector record of $216 million. Head of capital Daniel Colman said that the fund equity raising was “oversubscribed in just over two weeks, with investors attracted to the strong growth story emerging in Brisbane”. CBRE Asia-Pacific and JLL led an expressions-of-interest campaign for the Green Square North Tower in May of this year. ▲ Cairns Corporate Tower is a 15-storey, A-Grade tower in the heart of the CBD. Cairns tower changes hands for $77m Meanwhile, in the north of the state, Cairns Corporate Tower has been acquired for $77.5 million by a local group of business people with a long-term vision for the landmark property. The 15-storey, A-Grade tower at 15 Lake Street is in the heart of the CBD and widely recognised as North Queensland’s premier commercial office building, according to agents. The sale was managed by CBRE’s Danny Betros and Mark Witheriff on behalf of the Brisbane-based, ASX-listed Garda Property Group, who acquired the building nearly 20 years ago and will now focus on its “pure play” industrial REIT strategy. “As the largest commercial property sale in North Queensland this year, this transaction underscores the rapid growth of the Cairns economy and population,” Betros said. “With a GDP of $11.46 billion and a population forecast to reach 241,000 by 2050, Cairns offers significant investment potential. “While the city benefits from its role as a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and its strong tourism market, the robust interest from the broader investment market in this sale demonstrates the depth and strength of the Cairns economy.” The tower occupies a prime 4570sq m site and offers 14,844sq m of lettable area, featuring modern, recently refurbished office accommodation with 264 carparks. The building has a secure and diversified tenant profile, including major tenants such as the Department of Transport and Main Roads, BDO North Queensland, Grant Thornton Australia, and GHD Services Australia. The sale, which closed after a private placement process, attracted strong interest from high-net-worth investors, institutions, property funds and offshore groups, reflecting the attractive investment environment in Cairns and Far North Queensland. “Regional Queensland commercial markets have performed particularly well in recent years, driven by significant population growth and expansion in the SME business sector. This has led to falling vacancy rates across the state, putting upward pressure on rental rates and downward pressure on incentives,” Witheriff said.

Quintessential Pays $175m for Green Square North Tower

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