The Surry Hills headquarters of high-end women’s fashion house Aje is on the market with a price tag of $13 million.
Formerly the popular Argentinian restaurant Porteno, the building was badly damaged in a fire in 2015. From the ashes, a chic office and showroom was born, with the fashion powerhouse signing up to a rolling six-year lease in late 2020.
“Aje were the first tenant to inspect the building during its construction,” said co-listing agent Shane Blackett of IB property. “They signed on to their lease three months prior to completion of the build, without a leasing campaign and in the midst of COVID lockdown, signalling the resilience and leasing appeal of this asset during any kind of market”.
Founded in 2008 by friends Adrian Norris and Edwina Forest, Aje has enjoyed great success in recent years, with more than 20 bricks-and-mortar stores spread across Australia and New Zealand. So successful, in fact, that Morgan Stanley is said to be assessing the brand’s options for floating.
The Surry Hills headquarters at 532 Riley Street was designed by architecture firm Those Architects. Neutral tones are complimented by brass fittings and upcycled timber, while the space heavily features the brand’s trademark soft, curved walls and joinery.
Among the accolades received last year, the headquarters was shortlisted for the workplace design category at the Australian Interior Design Awards.
The freehold offers 760 square metres of building space on a 439-square-metre block, returning a net income of $652,294 per year with annual 4 percent fixed increases.
The property was listed for sale through Mercer Property for $14 million last year, but was withdrawn in November.
Slashed in price, the property is back on the market through Shane Blackett and Colliers’ Miron Solomons and Matt Pontey.
Solomons said the property “ticks all the boxes” of a passive “hassle-free investment” having been rebuilt and refurbished by renowned architects, and leased to an iconic Australian brand.
Private high-net-worth investors looking for assets on the city fringe will be among the likely buyer pool, as will investment funds.
In the current economic environment, banks and lenders would look closely at the asset’s risk profile, Solomons said.
“If you are a bank or a valuer, you are look at the tenant, the building, the area,” he said. “It’s passive, it’s safe – the risk profile is eliminated somewhat.”
While acknowledging a shift in the broader market, Solomons said investors were still active in the eastern suburbs. “We are not a bubble,” he said, but there’s still a big appetite for property in the eastern suburbs city fringe “because supply and demand is really limited”.
“It traded so well through COVID,” Solomons added.
The property is for sale through an expressions-of-interest campaign closing on Thursday, August 18.