ABN Group signs a 9000 square metre pre-commitment lease in Perth
West Australian property veteran Dale Alcock’s ABN Group has pre-committed to lease a new 9000-square-metre campus office building in Leederville, in a boost to the Perth leasing market.
The well-known Perth builder agreed terms to lease the property from developer FJM Property, for 12 years with two five-year options.
FJM Property, led by Adrian Fini, is scheduled to complete development by mid-2021.
In a thumbs-up to Perth’s office leasing market, which has been struggling with a vacancy of of 18.5 per cent – the highest in the country, according to the Property Council – the deal between ABN and FJM will see the new property built on the Leederville Hotel car park site. The suburbs is four kilometres north of the Perth CBD.
The Leederville Hotel Syndicate, represented by Mr Fini, owns the site.
ABN Group will combine all its WA-based companies, including commercial construction and apartment development, into the building, which will also have a ground floor showroom. The multi-level tower will also have laneway retail space.
The group, which has employs 1000 people, will relocate from its current Osborne Park offices. It has been searching for a new space since last July and quietly closed the deal over Christmas.
“We knew exactly what we were looking for in our new headquarters. We will provide our customers with a first-class service and our staff with the best work experience,” Mr Alcock said.
FJM has committed $35 million to the construction of the building, and has appointed architect Hassell Studio to design the property. Mr Fini said the development would improve “activation” in the Leederville Town Centre.
The rent was confidential but market sources have said that an annual rent of between $395 to $495 per square metre, not including incentives, would be a fair price for a brand new build. The current market rent in the Leederville area is around a net annual rent of $200 to $300 a square metre before market incentives.
Separately, agents were also concerned how the 9000sq m that ABN would be vacating would be filled. The Herdsman area, where ABN’s current office sits, has 35,000sq m of unfilled offices, representing a 19.8 per cent vacancy, CRBE’s Colin Gilchrist says.
