Westbridge divests Victorian asset for $30m

WA’s Westbridge Funds Management has divested one of its industrial assets in Victoria, pocketing $30 million from the transaction.

The property fund manager divested the 10,000 square metre warehouse facility from its MPS Diversified Property Trust, established in 2015.

Storage company Grace, which currently occupies the asset, purchased the property. 

Westbridge acquired the asset in 2017 for the price of $11.5 million and sold it for $30 million, spruiking its 160 per cent increase over the seven-year hold period.

Head of commercial funds Alex Lambert said the result supported the Westbridge's decision to anchor the MPS Diversified Property Trust's portfolio around the Victorian industrial sector.

“Our market research indicated that this sector was approaching a cyclical upswing, characterised by undervalued land and strong demand fundamentals, given Victoria's established position as the industrial hub of Australia,” he said.

“When we acquired this asset, we were attracted by its strong fundamentals that we believed would stand the test of time and drive long-term value appreciation.”

Westbridge chairman Damian Collins said the sale would take the total return to date for the MPS Diversified Property Trust to 184 per cent.

“This achievement follows our earlier success with the sale of the Ellenbrook Medical Centre in WA for $12 million in June 2021, which marked a 48 per cent uplift on its initial purchase price,” he said.

Mr Collins said Westbridge would now shift its focus to finalising the strategies for the four remaining assets in the Fund, being two additional industrial properties in Victoria, a warehouse/office facility in WA and a convenience retail centre in Queensland.