Quintessential is pleased to announce the sale of 39 Brisbane Avenue, Barton, a premium office development located within Canberra’s most prestigious office precinct.

The property was purchased by IOOF Investment Services Limited, which is part of the Insignia Financial Group of companies, (for its AM Property Plus fund) for $41 million, reflecting a gross sale yield of approximately 5.29 per cent. Colliers International and JLL facilitated the transaction on behalf of Quintessential.  

Quintessential originally purchased the property for $16.5 million from the Motor Trades Association of Australia in 2017, and has recently undertaken a complete refurbishment of the building to regenerate it both aesthetically and mechanically.

The Barton office block is now 100 per cent leased to a diverse list of quality tenants, including BAE Systems and Spirit Super. The asset has a fully leased net passing income of over $2 million and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6 years.

Situated in the prestigious Parliamentary Precinct adjacent to Parliament House, the property features three levels of office above a ground floor and podium/basement car park, spanning 4,868sqm of net lettable area.  

Russell Bullen, CEO of Quintessential, said, “We are 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."

“Canberra is one of the highest performing office markets in the country with very strong forward-looking prospects,” Mr Bullen said.

The deal was brokered by Matthew Winter and Paul Powderly, State Chief Executive of Colliers International in Canberra, who said, “The price point of the asset suited a number of different buyer types which led to record levels of participation, all vying for 39 Brisbane Avenue. 

  “The building was extremely well presented with all the fundamentals in place, including a prime location, quality income stream and a large site, which is why it was so highly contested, ” Mr Powderly said.

Tim Mutton, Managing Director of JLL Canberra, said the property had received strong bidding interest from domestic and international groups due to its proximity to parliament, quality tenants and attractive income profile.

“Barton is a tightly held market, so these types of opportunities are few and far between,” he said.

Simon Gross, Head of Property at Insignia Financial, said “Generating a reliable and consistent income stream for investors, while being set to capitalise on market value appreciation over the long term, this transaction was an ideal fit for our well established and highly successful 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.”

39 Brisbane Avenue has a 5-star NABERS Energy Base Building Rating and 5.5-star NABERS Water Base Building Rating. 

The property was extensively refurbished between 2016-2020 including new EOT, plant and equipment upgrades and a building aesthetic overhaul. Aesthetic upgrades included refurbishments to ground and on-floor lobbies, bathrooms and end-of-trip facilities, painting of the façade and landscaping.

The property is located along Brisbane Avenue, a main thoroughfare at the doorstep of Parliament House and surrounded by leading government agencies. 

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