Finbar buys development site

PROPERTY developer Finbar Group has announced the purchase of a large slice of land in East Victoria Park, which it plans to develop into apartments.

Finbar announced early this week to the Australian Stock Exchange it had bought the 1.6 hectare site for $9.3 million in a 50 per cent joint venture agreement with its long-time partner, Wembley Lakes Estates.

WA Business News understands the site was formerly owned by Macquarie Bank, which had received approval in 2008 to build a $100 million office park, which would have delivered 18,000 square metres of office space in three separate buildings.

The remainder of the site would have been 36 residential apartments across two buildings.

Finbar intends to develop 95 walk-up apartments, while leaving capacity for an additional 6,200sqm of office and showroom space.

The proposed development is the latest in a series of joint ventures between Finbar and Wembley Lakes Estates, including the recently completed 262-apartment complex, Royale, in East Perth.

According to Australian Securities and Investments Commission records, the majority of Wembley Lakes Estates shares are held almost equally by five different entities.

ASIC records show 80 per cent of Wembley Lakes Estates is owned by Indonesian-born individuals, with each separate entity sharing the same registered address in Bateman.

The remaining 20 per cent of shares are owned by a company named Group 6, which is in turn owned by three different companies that are registered, respectively, to Finbar chief executive Darren Pateman, former Finbar director Richard Rimington, and Wan Kah Chan, whose company is registered to Finbar managing director John Chan’s South Perth address.