The $24.5 million sale of the property at 82 Eagle Street, Brisbane to Japanese property group Jen Retail Properties Ltd is part of a strategic initiative by Select Property Fund to reduce exposure to real estate in Australia and re-focus allocations to recovering markets.
“This is the right time and the right decision for the Select Property Fund – a decision informed by our ‘House View’, which is underpinned by our research team’s rigorous analysis of the Japanese market,” Standard Life Investments head of wholesale and listed retail funds Andrew Jackson said.
“We’re backing the concept that ‘Abenomics’ will have a positive knock-on impact on real estate which, in turn, will deliver sustainable returns,” Mr Jackson said.
Earlier in the year, the Select Property Fund sold another Australian asset – 16 Spring Street in Sydney.
The proceeds of both sales will be re-invested in high quality assets in Tokyo where the Select Property Fund has identified strong growth opportunities, Mr Jackson said.
The move will also be the fund’s first exposure to direct real estate assets in Japan, where it already allocates to the listed real estate market.
Standard Life Investments retains assets in the Perth office property market, which the global investment manager believes is a more robust market than Sydney and Brisbane.
