Property veteran and former ABN Group co-owner Garry Brown-Neaves has seized the opportunity to broaden his portfolio, launching new industrial and commercial estate Precinct 95 late last month.
Property veteran and former ABN Group co-owner Garry Brown-Neaves has seized the opportunity to broaden his portfolio, launching new industrial and commercial estate Precinct 95 late last month.
The 18-hectare estate sits within the existing Forrestdale Business Park, bordered by Ranford Road and Alex Wood Drive, with stage 1A delivering nine titled industrial lots ranging from 1,897 square metres to 3,064sqm, marketed by Raine & Horne Commercial.
Stage 1B comprises commercial lots currently under construction, with Mr Brown-Neaves anticipating the estate’s end value, once fully developed, will be about $200 million.
Mr Brown-Neaves bought the site in 2006, with initial plans including the development of a large direct factory outlet and supermarket.
However, after further review amid the tumult of the GFC, the decision was made to not proceed.
In 2016, Brown-Neaves Investments (BNI) was formed to manage the family group of companies; that year, BNI increased its stake to become the majority shareholder in the syndicate now known as Precinct 95.
BNI has largely played in the residential space, with its current pipeline set to bring 3,800 lots to market in the next 10 years.
BNI chief operating officer Brad Headling said the group had several present and future investments in residential land subdivision in close proximity to Precinct 95, (its largest industrial development to date) with the City of Armadale expected to continue to transform, having already experienced a large increase in population.
“Precinct 95 is now perfectly positioned to launch, and with BP taking the corner site to the estate and commencing building over the coming weeks, it’s a great start to the project,” Mr Headling told Business News.
“We’ve seen through 2016 to 2018 a renewed interest and activity within the industrial property sector.
“And we expect this trend to continue, evident in listed players taking a greater interest in industrial property as an asset class.”
ASX-listed Charter Hall transacted one of the largest deals in Western Australia’s industrial market for 2017, purchasing a parcel of land in Welshpool for $52 million, with gross lettable area of 31,291sqm.
Growthpoint Properties Australia was another listed player to have made a move in WA, securing the Desmar Portfolio at Perth Airport last year for $46 million.
As of December, WA had the highest growth rate across the nation for industrial job ads, according to Savills Australia, pointing to the logistics sector as the driver for new leasing progress in Perth.
In the 12 months to December 2017, transport and logistics accounted for 67.6 per of all industrial leasing activity, followed by manufacturing and engineering (14.8 per cent).