Boutique developer Match Group has announced a shift into property funds management, with a $4 million Bunbury town centre site its first acquisition to be placed into a trust.
The site is located one street back from Bunbury’s main shopping strip, at 42 Wittenoom Street, and is tenanted by Officeworks.
Match said it would raise $2.2 million from investors for the acquisition.
Managing director Lloyd Clark said the establishment of The Bunbury Trust was part of the company’s strategy to broaden its operations.
“We saw it as a natural diversification of product for our investors, and also as an opportunity to create a future development pipeline for Match,” Mr Clark told Business News.
“The assets that we will specifically target will have long-term redevelopment potential, and it is also a means of maximising capital gains for our investors.”
The Bunbury project ticks those boxes, Mr Clark said, with its town centre zoning providing significant opportunity, either as a retail project or a mixed-use commercial and residential development.
Mr Clark said the group would aim to acquire three or four properties and place them into income trust funds over the next 12 months.
“It is a very strategic approach, so when we find the right opportunity we will act,” he said.
“There’s a lot of demand from our own long-term investor base, but we’ve also had a lot of interest from new investors, financial planners, and in particular, self-managed super funds.”