UniSuper, Cbus Property and the AMP Capital Finance have set a...

UniSuper, Cbus Property and the AMP Capital Finance have set a new retail property record, ploughing $2.2 billion into the acquisition of a majority stake in Queensland shopping mall Pacific Fair and the purchase of half of Sydney’s Macquarie Centre.The acquisitions took place via the purchase of 100 per cent of the units in the AMP Capital Retail Trust from CPPIB, Harina (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) and the AMP Life Property Fund.The new consortium now owns 50 per cent of Macquarie Centre and 80 per cent of Pacific Fair. These centres have been managed and developed by AMP Capital for more than 30 years.The multi-billion dollar investment is more than double the previous largest direct retail property deal, with the record formerly held by the Alter family’s Pacific Group of Companies Retail $1 billion sale of half of the Pacific Werribee and Pacific Epping shopping centres to fund manager Queensland Investment Corporation in 2018.The new deal was facilitated by the AMP Capital Real Estate team, alongside Lachlan MacGillivray of Colliers and Morgan Stanley’s Tim Church and Craig Smith.Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright advised the consortium on the acquisition, while King & Wood Mallesons acted for the sellers.It’s part of a big week for the team from Morgan Stanley, with the investment bank also involved in the almost $800 million sale of Ascot Capital’s logistics and office assets to GPT Group and MA Financial, which was announced on Monday, as well as the $2.8 billion takeover of Aventus Retail Property Fund by HomeCo.The Pacific Fair and Macquarie Centre deal is further evidence that interest in retail centres is well and truly heating up once again.Earlier this month GPT Group sold Wollongong Central to fund manager Haben for more than $400 million earlier this month, while Hong Kong’s Link REIT bought stakes in The Queen Victoria Building, The Galeries and the Strand Arcade in Sydney from Singapore fund GIC for more than $500 million.