- CQE acquired a 49.9 per cent interest in the property.
- The stake was acquired for $67M on a 4.8 per cent capitalisation rate.
- The property was jointly developed by Charter Hall and Western Sydney University.
Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) has announced its acquisition of a 49.9 per cent interest in Innovation Quarter, located within the healthcare and research precinct of Westmead, NSW.
Also known as iQ, the newly constructed property was jointly developed by Charter Hall and Western Sydney University.
The CQE stake in the Innovation Quarter was acquired for $66.9 million on a 4.8 per cent capitalisation rate. The company said it funded the acquisition of iQ through the full divestment of securities held in Arena REIT (ASX: ARF) and the divestment of five non-core early learning properties.
Innovation Quarter details
The property is located at 164 Hawkesbury Road in Westmead, adjacent to several train stations including Westmead, and the future Metro West station and Parramatta Light Rail station; the property is also adjacent to Westmead Hospital.
Westmead has Australia’s largest concentration of hospital and health services, co-located with research and education. iQ sits within the Westmead Strategic Precinct, whose primary function is as a health, research and education hub. Western Sydney University occupies approximately 47% of iQ on a 15-year initial term with the CSIRO occupying approximately 16% of the property on a 10-year initial term. Other major tenants include Telstra Health, Psych Central and WentWest.
The property is an A-grade building, and designed to meet 5-star NABERS Energy and 4-star NABERS water ratings. 6-star Green Star rating, and is expected to be certified Carbon Neutral Enabled.
Travis Butcher, Fund Manager of CQE said: “Consistent with CQE’sactive portfolio curation strategy, we’re pleased to add a high quality, new social infrastructure property to the portfolio with strong property fundamentals funded through the divestment of non-core assets.”
Following the completion of this acquisition and based on information currently available and barring any unforeseen events, CQE re-confirms existing FY23 distribution guidance of 17.2 cents per unit.
