December 6, 2016, Perth,

Australia – Real estate private equity

firm Gaw Capital Partners has announced that it has purchased the Telstra

Building on Stirling Street in Perth, Australia through one of the funds under

its management.

Located near the city’s CBD, the eight-storey, 20,000 sqm office

property is located on a 6,000 sqm site, with nearby access to a variety of

public transport and lifestyle options.

Gaw Capital Partners was advised by local diversified developer

DevWest Group on the deal and plans to convert the building into student

accommodation for over 500 students. By the end of 2020, Australia’s undersupply of student accommodation is projected to increase

by 39% to over 400,000 units as the rate of full-time higher education student

growth continues to outpace the development of purpose built student

accommodation (PBSA) bed spaces, according to Knight Frank research. The

student accommodation sector is not only good for the state economy, but also

good for investors as the occupier demand is less cyclical, less volatile and less

uncertain than it is within other property asset classes.

With previous experience of converting properties into student

accommodation following the launch in 2015 of Campus HK, Hong Kong’s first shared accommodation created specifically for students with

uniquely designed living spaces, extensive leisure facilities, affordable rents

and a convenient location, Gaw Capital Partners is well positioned to renovate

the Perth property.

Kenny Gaw, Managing Principal and President of Gaw Capital

Partners, commented, “Education is already one of Australia’s biggest export earners and there continues to be strong growth

in the number of international students arriving in the country. Perth has not

focused on this growth area during previous economic cycles, but our advisor

DevWest recognised the significant opportunity in the market and was one of the

first market players to act.”

Felix Lai, Investment Director of Gaw Capital Partners remarked,

“The acquisition means we can provide a significant number of

beds in a fast, cost effective manner, whilst at the same time offering a very

high level of amenities for students. In many ways, this building offers more

exciting opportunities than a new build and the level of support we have

received from the community has been very encouraging. This could be the first

of numerous conversions of older style office buildings into alternative uses.”

The building conversion comes at a time when Perth is undergoing

rapid transformation, such as the re-emergence of the Northbridge entertainment

precinct and the evolution of the Perth City Link project, which will reconnect

the CBD to Northbridge in the north of the city.

“The very nature and stature

of the building offers our client the ideal opportunity to bring new life to a

large and prominent building in the locale,” said Damon Ferguson,

Executive Director of DevWest Group. “It will certainly serve as a major

contributor to the regeneration of this area.”

下載版本