Frasers Property Industrial buys into Craigieburn
Charlie Buxton’s Cadence Property Group with Linkage Property, led by Bo Gao, have sold a 40.85 hectare Craigieburn industrial development site for $87 million – a staggering 163 per cent rise on the prices they outlaid in three deals negotiated since 2021, settled from last July.
Frasers Property Industrial is the buyer; it has been looking to replenish its pipeline since progressively filling up its 4Ten Epping estate, which has been taking shape since 2020, 12 kilometres away.
About 33ha of the parcel covering 50, 60 and 70 Kinloch Court is developable, able to accommodate some 170,000 square metres of product.
Affected by the Craigieburn North Employment Area Precinct Structure Plan, the block’s eastern boundary abuts a rail line connecting metropolitan Melbourne to Qube’s proposed $400m-plus intermodal facility at Beveridge, 17 km north of Craigieburn.
Following settlement, Cadence controls a 65ha neighbouring holding earmarked for the Kinetic Business Park, which is seeking pre-commitments.
Goodman, with its 58ha Amaroo Business Park, home to an Amazon’s first Australian sorting centre, and LOGOS, which has just started the first stage of a 90ha employment hub, the Craigieburn Logistics Estate, are also major local landowners.
Enormous windfall
Cadence and Linkage paid a total of $33.078m for the Craigieburn plots.
Mr Buxton controlled two of the parcels: 50 Kinloch Ct, spreading 14.33ha, which set him back $14.098m in a deal negotiated last December and settling the month later.
In a show of how fast local property values have moved, this parcel previously traded for $5.25m in 2020.
Cadence also offered #60; covering 13.5ha, this cost $12.1m in November, 2021, in a deal finalised last July.
Linkage owned the third site – #70 – after paying $6.88m in March, 2021, settling in January.
The pair amalgamated the properties, committed to building new infrastructure, including an access road at its southern boundary, then listed them in April as a ready-to-go estate, Kinloch, with a planning scheme for between five and 12 warehouses.
CBRE’s Daniel Eramo, Chris O’Brien and Tom Hayes with Savills’ Anthony Cannizzaro and Michael Wall were the agents.
“We are thrilled to be working alongside Frasers Property Industrial to deliver the infrastructure in the Craigieburn North Employment Precinct and the mutually beneficial transaction is a big vote of confidence for the area,” Cadence founder and chief executive officer, Charlie Buxton, said.
“We strategically acquired around 100 hectares in the precinct over the last two years and this deal is reflective of our approach of staying flexible with how we deliver and monetise our holdings over time,” he added.
“Together with this transaction we are continuing to develop our adjoining 65ha $650m industrial estate, Kinetic Business Park,” according to the executive (story continues below).
“We retain extremely high confidence in the precinct and the industrial sector more broadly”.
Frasers builds pipeline
The Craigieburn purchase comes three weeks since FPI secured flooring giant GMK to a 27,417 sqm office/warehouse at 4Ten Epping – filling that estate to 43 per cent.
“We are excited to acquire another prime industrial development in this fast-growing Melbourne region,” FPI general manager, Andrew Hanna, said.
“The acquisition aligns with our aim to boost our development pipeline in well-connected corridors close to transport and worker populations, which this strategic location enables” he added.
“We will build on the momentum we have created at our nearby 4Ten Epping estate, which has received significant demand from diverse customers,” according to the executive.
“Melbourne’s north is continuing to undergo significant transformation, with substantial investment in local infrastructure including the North East Link and inland rail projects set to further increase accessibility”.
“We look forward to progressing our plans for this site and bringing it to market”.
Chronically low supply: agent
Mr Eramo said industrial vacancy in Melbourne’s north is a “chronically low” 0.85pc.
“In the 2022 calendar year, Melbourne’s north experienced its highest level of lease absorption on record at 452,000 sqm,” he added.
“We are on track to improve on that in 2023,” according to the executive.
“More occupiers and investors are recognising the operational benefits of the Craigieburn North Employment Area Precinct and its unrivalled access through Australia’s eastern seaboard.
“This, coupled with major infrastructure projects including the NorthEast Link, Somerton Intermodal and the Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal, are further cementing Craigieburn as a long-term strategic solution for industrial facilities in Victoria.”
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