An exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire 100% interests in Melbourne’s GPO and The Strand Melbourne – two iconic CBD retail assets – is being offered on behalf of super fund manager ISPT.

CBRE’s Simon Rooney and James Douglas along with Colliers’ Lachlan MacGillivray have been exclusively appointed to steer the highly anticipated, international Expressions of Interest campaign. 

The assets occupy prime positions within Melbourne’s ‘Golden Mile’ core retail precinct, one of the city’s most trafficked retail destinations in Australia’s most sought-after retail precinct.

“Premium, flagship CBD retail assets are always tightly held, rarely traded, and continue to be one of Australia’s most pursued retail investment opportunities. We anticipate an extremely competitive domestic and international buyer pool, given the scale, quality and location of these assets and the ongoing investor confidence in the future of CBD retailing,” Mr Rooney said. 

“Melbourne is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the exceptional rebound in tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic, with domestic tourism expenditure up 32% on 2019 levels in addition to Melbourne being Australia’s fastest growing capital city – set to overtake Sydney by 2031 and home to over nine million people by 2056.” 

Mr MacGillivray added, “Iconic assets in the Melbourne CBD seldom come to market, especially located in one of the nation’s most highly regarded retail precincts. Their rarity is such that they have accounted for just 1.6 per cent of all CBD retail transactions since January 2018, with the last Victorian CBD deal struck over two years ago.”

“The two assets are expected to be highly sought after and following the incredibly robust sale of Louis Vuitton in 2020 at an impressively low yield of 2.4 per cent and sale rate of $40,915, we expect the pent-up demand for assets of this nature to garner a strong reception from the market.” 

Melbourne’s GPO was originally constructed in 1859 and was utilised as Melbourne’s General Post Office until 1992. Occupying an iconic site with 40 metres of Bourke Street Mall frontage, it is one of only 14 properties with exclusive frontage to the mall, the geographic heart of Melbourne CBD shopping. 

The GPO is home to Australia’s largest H&M flagship store, secured on a brand-new 10-year lease through to March 2034. It occupies a high-profile 3,856sqm leasehold site, situated on the busy intersection of Bourke Street Mall and Elizabeth Street, with over 38,000 daily pedestrians. 

The Strand Melbourne occupies two prime corners within one of Australia’s most prominent CBD retail precincts, surrounded by the city’s most iconic laneways and arcades. The asset is one of the most well-connected and highly exposed retail sites in Melbourne with direct access to Emporium Melbourne and the GPO.

The Strand’s high-profile tenancy offer includes a unique collection of Australia’s leading fashion and lifestyle retailers including COS, Acne Studios, ASICS, Onitsuka Tiger, Dinosaur Designs, Midas and Franck Provost providing significant destinational appeal. The asset also incorporates a highly convenient two-level parking facility onsite for 173 vehicles, operated by Secure Parking, a unique offering within the Melbourne CBD. 

Both assets draw from one of the largest retail catchments in Australia, with an annual retail expenditure pool of $84.3 billion, which is forecast to experience robust growth of 4.4% per annum to 2041, to reach $168.0 billion.

This is underpinned by a captive trade catchment and affluent surrounding worker market, as well as a bustling tourism market, with 32 million domestic visitors to Melbourne in the year to June 2023, providing retailers the opportunity to benefit from longer trader hours and diverse customer base.

The assets are available individually or in-one-line, with international Expressions of Interest closing, Thursday 16^thNovember 2023.