WOTSO goes west with ‘sight unseen' deal for co-working hub
Co-working hub operator WOTSO has pounced on its first West Australian purchase, with a ‘sight unseen’ deal acquiring the former Australian Sailing Museum in Mandurah.
The 22 Ormsby Terrace property was purchased for $2 million after it was listed for $2.95 million. The deal – it was brokered by Colliers’ Tim Scott – was funded by recycling funds from the $3.5 million sale of a legacy asset, a Toowoomba industrial property, in WOTSO’s portfolio.
The Mandurah property was acquired from the Tasker family. Closed in 2012, the museum had been established by renowned sailor Rolland “Rolly” Tasker, who passed away in 2012. Tasker, with Malcolm Scott, won Australia’s first Olympic sailing medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, taking silver in their 12-metre Sharpie.
“Not everyone will look at a vacant function centre and former museum and think ‘flexible workspace’, but we do,” said WOTSO’s joint managing director, Jessie Glew.
“Buildings with character and history really add to the feel of a WOTSO and the community that is built.”
The ASX-listed player is in discussions with a local flexible workspace operator that it hopes to operate the space with under a joint venture arrangement.
WOTSO Mandurah, powered by the local operator is expected to open its doors in early 2022. The Mandurah acquisition brings its portfolio to 12assets with a WOTSO facility in all but one.
