)
A 27-storey office building located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD has been offloaded for $196.4 million by Hong Kong-based Early Light International, with the sale representing a 10 per cent drop on what the company paid five years ago from US private equity firm Blackstone.
The office tower at 1 Castlereagh Street is now owned by SLMC Property Australia – a subsidiary of Singapore’s Sim Lian Metro Capital, which is a private real estate fund management company managing a portfolio of office and retail assets in Australia. The company has 17 mixed-use retail and commercial assets across several NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA.
The property, spanning 1,164 sqm at the corner of Castlereagh and Hunter Streets, sits opposite the newly completed Sydney Metro station at Martin Place. Recently refurbished at a cost of $37 million, the building offers 12,418sqm, including premium office space across 23 levels and retail space on the ground and lower floors.
The building underwent a $24 million refurbishment in 2020-2021, adding two penthouse office floors and relocating plant equipment. An additional $13 million was spent on upgrades, including a new lobby, tenant amenities, facade maintenance, retail alterations, and reconfigurations of the lower levels and basement.
Despite the capital injection into revamping the tower, Early Light International - backed by billionaire toy maker Francis Choi - is selling it at a loss after purchasing it from Blackstone for $220 million in 2019. The deal followed Choi's $335 million purchase of the Australian Securities Exchange’s (ASX) soon-to-be former home, 20 Bridge Street, which is also now on the market.
Major tenants in the property, which is about 85 per cent occupied, includes two-time Australian Young Entrepreneur winners Dental Boutique, Citrus Group, the Recruitment Company, Verkada Australia, Wrays and Red Bottle.
The sale was secured via an off-market campaign run by Knight Frank agents Dominic Ong, Paul Roberts, Ben Schubert and Jonathan Vaughan.
Ong says the property attracted significant buyer interest from a wide range of parties, with the successful purchaser drawn to the strategic location of the property.
“1 Castlereagh Street is situated within the heart of the Sydney CBD’s financial core and is in the epicentre of the evolving CBD, surrounded by Australia’s most iconic buildings including One Circular Quay, Brookfield Place, Martin Place Metro Towers, and Chifley South,” he says.
“The property is also directly opposite the newly opened Martin Place Metro Station entrance and within close proximity of the CBD’s world-class transport options including rail, light rail and the ferry.
“Offshore investors, particularly those from Singapore, have been very active in Sydney’s office investment market this year, with the sale of 1 Castlereagh Street being the latest purchase.”
)
