Early settlement boosts Cedar Woods’ first-half earnings

Cedar Woods Property has received an unexpected first-half earnings boost, after the $58 million sale of a commercial building in Victoria settled ahead of schedule.

Cedar Woods had previously expected the settlement of the sale of Target’s headquarters at Melbourne’s Williams Landing to occur in the second half of the 2019 financial year, but an early construction completion allowed for an earlier settlement.

The 12,960 square metre building was sold to Centuria Property Funds.

Cedar Woods has sold three commercial assets at its Williams Landing estate, comprising the Target HQ, a four-level office building at 107 Overton Road, and a strata office development at 111 Overton Road.

Managing director Nathan Blackburne said the company had a pipeline of more than 20 additional development sites at Williams Landing suitable for commercial, residential or mixed-use developments.

“The location of Williams Landing, 20 kilometres west of Melbourne, and its proximity to first-class amenities including rail, the freeway and retail, is a very attractive proposition for business,” Mr Blackburne said in a statement to the ASX.

“The demand for office space and the calibre of tenants highlights the strength of the precinct.”

Mr Blackburne said the early settlement would result in more evenly weighted earnings across the two halves of the financial year, with Cedar Woods maintaining its guidance of a strong uplift in net profit as compared with the previous financial year.