Bank of China cashes out from legal precinct

The owners of the locally based arm of Regis are developer Tony Brady and property bankers James Pellicano and Kelvin Cheong.

CBRE agents Nathan Mufale, Alex Brierley, David Minty and Jing Jun Hen had the listing back in August but declined to comment.

The buyers are understood to have been represented by Thomson Geer partner Eu Ming Lim.

The Bank of China paid $1.6 million for the three-storey 767 square metre building in 1994. It is on a 455 sq m site near the Little Lonsdale Street corner at 266-270 Queen Street.

Capital Gain speculated in August that the neighbours might be interested and so they were. Mr Brady’s Brady Group has full control over 280 Queen Street after a legal settlement with former development partner David Wu. His landholding on the corner is now 1745 sq m.

Mid town

Next to hit the market is 422 Little Collins Street, a 10-level office building in the cushy mid-town precinct, with a permit for a high-rise hotel.

Colliers International agents Matt Stagg, Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman and Guy Wells are marketing the site with expectations of around $45 million.

Built in 1990 as the administrative offices for the RACV Club, it sits on a large 956 sq m site between Queen and William streets.

“Everyone wants to be in this part of Collins Street. Experienced investors and developers realise it will be the most in demand address by tenants as business returns to normal,” Mr Stagg said.

Other recent deals struck late last year include the sale of 411 Collins Street – home of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba – to Peachtree Capital for $40 million and Landream’s acquisition of Burbank’s headquarters at 100 Franklin Street for around $30 million.

Meanwhile down on the corner of Lonsdale and King Streets, Hickory’s proposal for a 20-storey office building on the site of the Goldfingers Mens Club is up before the Planning Minister Richard Wynne.

The proposed development would keep the facade of the 106-year-old Kilkenny Inn but demolish the guts and the surrounding buildings. There’s been a pub on that corner since 1849 – pre-gold rush.

The Goldfingers strip joint has been there since 1997 but is now shut. Hickory declined to comment.

Strata offering

Strata office is proving attractive for those preparing to come back to work in the CBD.

Colliers International agent Chris Ling has level 10 of the much coveted 41 Exhibition Street on his books with expectations of around $4.5 million.

Colliers’ strata team, including George Davies and Anthony Kirwan, sold eight strata offices in December and a further four in January to a range of medical, legal and education providers.

“There’s nothing really available in the east end of town. We are getting a lot of interest,” he said.

“People are taking advantage of low interest rates and from a COVID point of view they’re really interested in a whole floor of a building so staff won’t be sharing services or bathrooms,” he said.

“January is usually a quiet time but not this year,” Mr Davies said. They’ve got more offices on their books including new strata offerings at 130 Little Collins Street and 318 Queen Street in the old Celtic Club.

Servo sells

Investment house Fawkner Property has scored one of the biggest servo deals seen for a while, selling the BP Westernport Service Centre in Cranbourne for $20.3 million.

The deal was negotiated by Stonebridge Property Group’s Justin Dowers, Kevin Tong and Phillip Gartland on a 5 per cent yield.

The buyer is understood to be a private investor making his first foray into the commercial property sector.