UniSuper, the $115 billion superannuation fund has secured a highly sought-after 13 hectare industrial property at 1-7 Cawley Road Yarraville, Victoria for $105 million.

The acquisition was facilitated by real estate investment management firm Richmond Bridge, as part of a new advisory mandate to over time build an industrial property portfolio across major Australian capital cities.

The Yarraville site is a rare infill redevelopment opportunity in a prime industrial market close to the Port of Melbourne. It’s expected to benefit significantly from nearby major projects including the West Gate Tunnel and the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal project.  

Nick Stephens, Senior Manager Property at UniSuper said, "We are very pleased with this acquisition which we believe when fully redeveloped will be very attractive to industrial and logistics occupiers and an excellent addition to our $6.3 billion unlisted property portfolio. We intend to redevelop the property over the medium term into a modern infill logistics estate and look forward to considering additional opportunities to grow our industrial property portfolio further.”

Richmond Bridge will provide investment and asset advisory services for the Yarraville asset and HB&B Property will provide development management services. The relationship with Richmond Bridge and its affiliate HB&B Property enhances UniSuper’s access to attractive investment opportunities and development capability across the Australian industrial market.

Pete Wylie, founding partner and CIO of Richmond Bridge said "We are grateful for the trust and backing that UniSuper has put into Richmond Bridge. We have the right team and structure to deliver exceptional service to UniSuper as we assist them to build out a market leading industrial property portfolio.”

Kurt Beckhaus, Managing Director of HB&B Property said “HB&B has a strong track record in the industrial market. This acquisition and the proposed development plan plays well to the strengths of the HB&B business and is an ideal asset to seed our strategic affiliation with Richmond Bridge. We also know the UniSuper team very well and are excited to be able to partner with them as they build out a high quality portfolio.”

CBRE’s Mark Granter and Chris O’Brien, along with Chris Jones from Dawkins’ Occhiutto brokered the transaction.

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