64 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra City for sale after failed takeover bid of Australian Unity Office Fund

The building at 64 Northbourne Avenue is part of the Australian Unity Office Fund, an ASX-listed real estate investment trust run by Australian Unity.

The property was valued at $32.5 million in June 2022, according to fund's most recent market update.

The sale price is expected to equal or exceed the current book value.

The expressions of interest campaign comes as the fund looks to divest "some or all properties" after a failed takeover bid by property investment firm Aliro Group.

Australian Unity Office Fund has also listed a 19-storey office at 150 Charlotte Street in Brisbane and a new-build office block in Beenleigh, Queensland for sale.

Colliers and Knight Frank have been appointed to sell the properties, including the fund's only Canberra asset.

The Northbourne Avenue building is fully leased to a mix of government and corporate tenants with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 2.3 years.

Matthew Winter, director of capital markets and investment services at Colliers, said the shorter lease expiry would appeal to groups looking for a "value-add opportunity".

"Interest in the first 24 hours has been a lot of domestic groups that are chasing a bit more of an attractive yield compared to some of the core investments that have sold in the last six to 12 months or the long-WALE opportunities," he said.

"Interest has been very strong so far. We've had quite a number of building walk-throughs already and a lot of requests for further information."

MORE PROPERTY NEWS:

Low vacancy rates have continued to underpin strong commercial property sales in 2022, following a record year for the ACT in 2021.

According to the Property Council of Australia, Canberra's office vacancy rate - which is calculated on whether a lease is in place - was 8.6 per cent for the six months to July.

Canberra's commercial property sale record is expected to be broken in the coming months when Charter Hall finalises its purchase of the Geoscience Australia headquarters in Symonston in a deal worth more than $370 million.

This week, Terry Snow's Capital Property Group sold off part of its Constitution Place development to Investa Commercial Property Fund in a deal worth about $275 million.

In June, a Barton office building sold for $41 million, exceeding initial price expectations.

The Australian Taxation Office building in Civic is currently on the market, as is a portion of The Canberra Times' former office in Fyshwick.

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