Canberra commercial office building at 39 Brisbane Avenue, Barton sells to Insignia Financial Group

Melbourne-based financial company IOOF Investment Services Limited, which is part of the Insignia Financial Group of companies, has purchased the block at 39 Brisbane Avenue, Barton, located in the parliamentary precinct.

The A-grade building was listed for sale in March with price expectations in the high-$30 millions.

The seller, private equity firm Quintessential Equity purchased the block from the Motor Trades Association of Australia in 2017 for $16.5 million. At the time, the offices were 40 per cent vacant.

The firm undertook a significant refurbishment of the four-level office block, which is now 100 per cent leased. Tenants include the Australian Medical Association, Spirit Super and BAE Systems.

The asset has a net income of more than $2 million annually and a weighted average lease expiry of six years. The sale reflects a gross yield of approximately 5.3 per cent.

Simon Gross, head of property at Insignia Financial, said the asset was an ideal fit for the group's AM Property Plus fund.

"Additionally, by identifying the growing demand for quality assets, the property sees us further diversify our portfolio into the ACT office development sector, in a prime location near Parliament House in central Canberra, one of the strongest and most stable office markets in Australia," he said.

Matthew Winter and Paul Powderly of Colliers International and JLL's Tim Mutton managed the transaction on behalf of the seller.

Quintessential Equity CEO Russell Bullen said the company was very pleased with the outcome of the sale.

"The quality of the building is second to none with millions spent on upgrades, resulting in an outstanding property that has allowed us to achieve our goal of securing long-term, stable income from high quality tenants," he said.

The Barton office isn't the first Canberra building Quintessential Equity has flipped following a makeover.

The firm sold 2-6 Bowes Street in Phillip in 2017 for $58.4 million after purchasing the Woden office block in 2012 for $14 million.

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In March, Mr Bullen said the firm recently raised $135 million of capital that will be used to acquire office and industrial properties across Australia. He said Canberra was an area of interest for future investments.

With Canberra's office occupancy rates improving and demand for leases among the highest in the country, commercial transactions have continued apace after a record year of sales in 2021.

Canberra developer Molonglo sold its Civic office block in April for a reported $71 million.

In December, Singapore-based investment company GIC purchased 50 Marcus Clarke Street for $335 million as part of a joint venture.

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