Despite lingering lockdown restrictions in the Melbourne CBD, JLL’s Josh Rutman, Nick Peden, Tim Carr and Mingxuan Li exchanged unconditional contracts on Lensworth House, a predominately vacant and refurbished freehold office building in Melbourne’s legal precinct sold for circa $10 million which reflects a strong building rate of close to $11,000/sqm on building area.

Following a hotly contested ExpressionsOf-Interest campaign which saw competitive bidding from a strong mix of local, interstate and offshore groups who all had varying strategies for the asset, the asset was sold to a local investor who secured the property on a very short settlement and intends on refurbishing the building and lease the vacant space upon completion.

JLL’s Executive Director of Capital Markets- (VIC), Josh Rutman said, “Being just one of nine freehold building sales to occur in the Melbourne CBD this year, the deal is another strong representation of the confidence that still exists in the market for strategically located CBD assets, and the long-term vision groups have on capital value growth within the city over the next 10 years.”

“We are also witnessing pent up demand from experienced value add groups who are taking a bullish view on the city’s rental market and ability to lease 174-176 Queen Street quickly upon completion of refurbishment works. With each floor within the building comprising an average of 230 sqm of net lettable area, buyers were confident that they would be able to quickly secure one tenant per floor given the rising trend of businesses seeking the ideal post pandemic office space and not share building amenities with other tenants.”

JLL’s Director of Capital Markets- (VIC), Nick Peden said, “It is the purest test of investor sentiment for the Melbourne CBD office market.”

“The fact that the property was sold to a private investment group based out of Sydney with 12 offers received in lockdown is a huge show of strength for the Melbourne CBD market, and it is a clear demonstration that demand for quality city holdings is still rife.”

According to Mingxuan Li, head of JLL’s Asia Markets, “Appetite from offshore Chinese investors remains extremely buoyant, particularly for freehold CBD buildings that have been historically very difficult to secure. The city remains a highly coveted location for Chinese investors, being one of the most lucrative markets in the country.”

To request a sales analysis please contact either of the JLL selling agents via the below contact details. 

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