News: GPT Australian pension fund acquires Melbourne site for $647 mln logistics hub

Australian pension fund UniSuper on Thursday bought an undeveloped site in Melbourne to develop a logistics hub worth more than A$1 billion ($647 million), signalling resilience in this segment amid challenges faced by the commercial property sector.

The fund paid A$260 million for the 66-hectare warehouse, logistics and manufacturing greenfield site 15 kilometres (9 miles) west of downtown Melbourne, according to a statement.

The A$124 billion fund will work with developers and property company GPT (GPT) to develop the site into a logistics and warehouse hub, the statement said.

While office tower owners have seen property values plummet by double digits due to remote working and higher vacancies, industrial real estate has avoided this downturn on the back of strong demand for assets like data centres and e-commerce logistics hubs.

"This super prime parcel of industrial land further improves the quality of our diversified unlisted property portfolio and adds to our exposure to the logistics and warehousing sector," Nick Stephens, UniSuper's senior manager for property said.

The purchase marks the latest acquisition for the fund, which has roughly A$8 billion invested in unlisted real estate. In July, UniSuper acquired a 50% stake in a portfolio of 20 industrial properties for over A$500 million.

($1 = 1.5454 Australian dollars)