RESEARCH SYDNEY CBD OFFICE & HOTEL INSIGHT OCTOBER 2015 Key Facts Of the Sydney CBD office stock which has traded since January 2010, 47% (by NLA) has been to offshore groups 100% of Sydney CBD hotel rooms (4 & 5 star) which have sold since January 2010 have been to offshore groups Offshore groups currently own 88% of the Sydney CBD hotel room stock (4 & 5 star), up from 69% in January 2010 Offshore groups directly own 30.2% of Sydney CBD office stock by value, up from 16.2% in January 2010 Ownership of both Sydney CBD office and hotel assets has well and truly gone global as Asia’s growing appetite for Sydney CBD property coincides with continued demand from mainstay investor locations such as North America. Overview Investment into Sydney CBD office and hotel assets by offshore groups has grown considerably over the past five years, boosted by relatively higher yields and more recently by currency depreciation. To measure the impact, Knight Frank has assessed the ownership of investment grade stock in the Sydney CBD office and hotel sectors as at September 2015, compared against January 2010. The globalisation thesis is clear-cut with offshore ownership of CBD office and hotel assets increasing significantly. So far in 2015, Sydney CBD office sales ($10m+) have totalled to $4.93 billion, which is already above the historical high recorded in 2014. Of this amount, 60% has been to offshore groups, which compares to just 18% in 2010. Similarly, the purchaser profile of Sydney CBD hotels continues to be dominated by offshore groups, with 100% of 2015 purchases being made by foreign groups, namely from Asia. Sydney is seen as an attractive investment proposition to offshore groups given our perceived less risky operating environment with greater market transparency, stable economic and political environment and favourable yield metrics. While direct offshore office ownership in 2010 was controlled largely by groups from North America, an emerging trend in recent years has been the growing presence of Asian investors, particularly from China, Hong Kong and Singapore. China’s share of office stock alone has jumped 12-fold since January 2010. While local funds, both listed and unlisted remain the largest owners in the Sydney CBD office market, portfolio re- balancing and capital management initiatives have resulted in local groups being net sellers since January 2010 with their proportion of ownership reducing significantly. Alternatively, while ownership in the hotel sector has historically had a large proportion of foreign owned stock, the share has risen substantially over the past five years, again the result of robust demand from Asia. MATT WHITBY Group Director, Head of Research & Consulting Follow @ KnightFrankAu
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RESEARCH SYDNEY CBD€¦ · Sydney CBD property coincides with continued demand from mainstay investor locations such as North America. Overview Investment into Sydney CBD office
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RESEARCH
SYDNEY CBD OFFICE & HOTEL INSIGHT OCTOBER 2015
Key Facts
Of the Sydney CBD office stock
which has traded since
January 2010, 47% (by NLA)
has been to offshore groups
100% of Sydney CBD hotel
rooms (4 & 5 star) which have
sold since January 2010 have
been to offshore groups
Offshore groups currently
own 88% of the Sydney CBD
hotel room stock (4 & 5 star),
up from 69% in January 2010
Offshore groups directly own
30.2% of Sydney CBD office
stock by value, up from 16.2%
in January 2010
Ownership of both Sydney CBD office and hotel assets has well and truly gone global as Asia’s growing appetite for Sydney CBD property coincides with continued demand from mainstay investor locations such as North America.
Overview
Investment into Sydney CBD office and hotel
assets by offshore groups has grown
considerably over the past five years,
boosted by relatively higher yields and more
recently by currency depreciation. To
measure the impact, Knight Frank has
assessed the ownership of investment grade
stock in the Sydney CBD office and hotel
sectors as at September 2015, compared
against January 2010. The globalisation
thesis is clear-cut with offshore ownership of
CBD office and hotel assets increasing
significantly.
So far in 2015, Sydney CBD office sales
($10m+) have totalled to $4.93 billion, which
is already above the historical high recorded
in 2014. Of this amount, 60% has been to
offshore groups, which compares to just
18% in 2010. Similarly, the purchaser profile
of Sydney CBD hotels continues to be
dominated by offshore groups, with 100% of
2015 purchases being made by foreign
groups, namely from Asia.
Sydney is seen as an attractive investment
proposition to offshore groups given our
perceived less risky operating environment
with greater market transparency, stable
economic and political environment and
favourable yield metrics.
While direct offshore office ownership in
2010 was controlled largely by groups from
North America, an emerging trend in recent
years has been the growing presence of
Asian investors, particularly from China,
Hong Kong and Singapore. China’s share of
office stock alone has jumped 12-fold since
January 2010. While local funds, both listed
and unlisted remain the largest owners in
the Sydney CBD office market, portfolio re-
balancing and capital management
initiatives have resulted in local groups being
net sellers since January 2010 with their
proportion of ownership reducing
significantly.
Alternatively, while ownership in the hotel
sector has historically had a large proportion
of foreign owned stock, the share has risen
substantially over the past five years, again
the result of robust demand from Asia.
MATT WHITBY Group Director, Head of Research
& Consulting
Follow @ KnightFrankAu
2
FIGURE 1
Sydney CBD Office Offshore
Ownership Total Value & SQ.M by Grade, Jan 10 to Sept 15
Source: Knight Frank Research *YTD to September
SYDNEY CBD OFFICE
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
$16
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015*
PRIME VALUE
SECONDARY VALUE
TOTAL SQM (RHS)
Billions '000s
FIGURE 2
Sydney CBD Office Ownership by
Value (Offshore) & SQ.M (Aust^) Selected Country/Region, Jan 10 to Sept 15
Source: Knight Frank Research *YTD to September ^Australian Institutional
FIGURE 3
Sydney CBD Office Development
Pipeline By Ownership Type, 2015-2020+
Source: Knight Frank Research Note: Excludes refurbishment/backfill space
In the office sector, the assessed market
value of Knight Frank’s Sydney CBD
investment grade database at September
2015 was $51.9 billion, covering 4.37
million sq.m (88% sample size vs PCA
figures). Since January 2010, both
domestic and offshore investors have
been increasingly active in the Sydney
CBD with transactions over the period
totalling just under $20 billion. Of this
amount, 52% by value was sold to
offshore groups. With heightened
amounts of foreign capital remaining in
the market, investment volumes are
currently at peak levels with YTD 2015
(September) transactions measuring
$4.93 billion.
Over the past five and a half years,
approximately 1.89 million sq.m of office
stock has traded (44% of the Knight
Frank database), of which just over
888,000 sq.m (or 47% of stock sold by
area) has transferred to offshore groups.
While prime grade stock has constituted
the majority of offshore purchases at 58%
by NLA (propelled by recent prime grade
sales), there has been a significant jump
in secondary grade stock acquisitions by
offshore groups. The driver of this has
been demand for secondary assets in
prime locations with re-development/
change of use potential, with major
examples including 1 Alfred St & 31 Pitt
St (Dalian Wanda), 175 Liverpool St
(Shimao) and 338 Pitt St & 233
Castlereagh St (Visionary).
Blackstone (US) and Ivanhoe Cambridge
(Canada) for a 25% share of 161
Castlereagh Street (Liberty Place) in late
2014.
Since January 2010, Greater China
(China & Hong Kong) has seen the
strongest rate of growth, up 12-fold to
$4.47 billion (see Figure 2). This result
was strengthened by the recent Investa
portfolio transaction to China Investment
Corporation (CIC) where the Chinese
sovereign wealth fund acquired just
under 135,000 sq.m of office NLA within
the Sydney CBD. This included a 25%
share in 225 George Street, 50% share at
400 George Street and a 26% share at
126 Phillip Street amongst others.
The growth of offshore ownership since
2010 has been assisted by portfolio re-
balancing and capital management
initiatives from local listed and unlisted
groups which has resulted in them being
net sellers over the period. Instead, local
groups have become more active via
capital partnering with large offshore
funds and development of new stock
(e.g. Mirvac at 200 George Street).
Offshore groups own a large share of
Sydney’s development pipeline,
accounting for 31% of future office stock
(see Figure 3), underpinned by the
additional stages of Barangaroo (T1-
Qatar Investment Authority, 37.5% & T3 -
CPPIB, 50%) and Ten Carrington
(Brookfield) - see Figure 3.
While local groups remain the biggest
landlords, 1.35 million sq.m (or 30.8% by
area) of the Sydney CBD office stock is
owned directly by offshore groups either
wholly or in part, translating to a value of
$15.64 billion. Since 2010, direct offshore
ownership of office stock has more than
doubled from just under 630,000 sq.m
and increased by 203% in value terms. In
comparison, domestic institutional
ownership has shrunk by 6% to 2.42
million sq.m since January 2010. If
indirect offshore ownership through
capital partnering initiatives, investment
into platforms and listed securities was
included in this analysis, the proportion of
foreign owned stock would be materially
higher.
Following the recent completion of
Barangaroo Tower II and the Canadian
Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPPIB)
50% share (bought in 2012), Canada has
overtaken Singapore as the largest owner
by value by country with a market value of
$3.57 billion. Of note, the bulk of
Canadian office purchasers have been for
prime trophy assets with 91% of stock by
value (or 86% of office NLA) being
confined to the prime market.
In conjunction with the US, North America
has increased its ownership from $2.00
billion in January 2010 to its current value
of $5.09 billion. Notably, the majority of
this increase stemmed from acquisitions
which occurred over the past 18 months
including the joint venture between
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2015 2016 2017 2018+ 2019+ 2020+
A-REIT GOVERNMENT
OFFSHORE PRIVATE
SUPER FUND UNLISTED/SYNDICATE
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015*
GREATER CHINA
SINGAPORE
NORTH AMERICA
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTIONS (RHS-SQM)
Millions '000s
3
RESEARCH OFFICE & HOTEL INSIGHT— SYDNEY CBD
Park to Sunshine Insurance Group from
China.
While groups from Asia have historically
been the most active players in the
Sydney CBD hotel market, owning 51%
of the room stock in January 2010,
demand from Asia has ramped up
considerably in recent years, where they
currently own 77% of all rooms. It has
been the emergence of China over this
period which has propelled this
proportion.
Since January 2010, Chinese/Hong Kong
ownership has increased from effectively
zero to almost 2,000 rooms or 18.4%, the
majority of which has occurred over the
past two years (see Figure 6).
Interestingly but not surprisingly, the bulk
of Chinese/Hong Kong acquisitions to
date have been for the ‘trophy’ hotel
assets which is in contrast to the office
market where they have been actively
pursuing secondary stock, particularly
those with change of use opportunities.
Notwithstanding a slight decrease over
the period, Singapore remains the largest
owner by country, with just over 3,000
rooms or 29% of total room stock (down
from 32.1% in January 2010). However,
with Singapore’s Pontiac Land Group
acquiring the 99 year lease of Sydney’s
Sandstone buildings at 23 and 35 Bridge
Street, their ownership of Sydney CBD
hotel rooms will increase once the circa
240 luxury hotel rooms are developed.
In line with record tourist numbers from
Asia and in particular China, foreign
investment into the Sydney CBD hotel
sector (4 & 5 star) has enjoyed similar
momentum with room ownership by
foreign groups currently at peak levels.
Brought about by healthy occupancy
rates, increased room revenues and a
positive outlook, offshore demand for
Sydney CBD hotels has been robust in
recent years, with the concentration of
foreign ownership significantly higher
than that of the Sydney CBD office
market.
As at January 2010, 69% of the 10,850
rooms in Knight Frank’s 4 & 5 star hotel
database were owned by offshore
groups, the bulk of which (3,482 rooms
or 11 hotels) stemmed from Singapore.
Additionally, domestic institutions owned
31% of Sydney CBD hotel rooms (4 & 5
star) at that point in time.
Fast forward five and a half years and the
proportion of offshore ownership has
jumped to 88%, brought about by the
growing investment appetite from Asia.
Since January 2010, 4,825 rooms (45%
of rooms) have sold, all of which were to
offshore groups. Recent significant sales
($400 million+) have included the Westin
Hotel to Singapore’s Far East
Organisation and Hong Kong's Sino
Group, the Hilton Hotel to Chinese
backed Singaporean investment house
Bright Ruby and the Sheraton on the
The rise in offshore ownership over
recent years has come at the expense of
domestic groups where their proportion
of ownership has diminished rapidly (see
Figure 6). With favourable selling
conditions coupled with an increased
focus on capital management initiatives,
a number of hotels previously owned by
domestic groups have traded since
January 2010 including the likes of the
Four Seasons Hotel (previously owned by
Eureka Funds Management).
Foreign demand for Sydney hotels is not
just confined to the Sydney CBD core
with those located in the fringe also being
subjected to strong demand. In recent
years this has included the acquisitions of
Blue Sydney (Woolloomooloo) to Hong
Kong’s Ovolo Group and the purchase of
the Larmont Sydney (formally the
Diamant Hotel) by a joint venture between
Singaporean and domestic funds.
Looking ahead, the high concentration of
offshore ownership is expected to
remain, however with the majority of
Sydney’s 5 star trophy assets trading
over the past two years, it is likely that
they will become more tightly held over
the next two to three years. For assets
that do become available, there is
expected to be significant offshore
interest, particularly from China as they
become more accustomed to investing in
Sydney, and tourism demand continues
to drive performance.
SYDNEY CBD HOTELS
FIGURE 4
Sydney CBD Hotel Ownership By Region, Sept 15 (4&5 Star Hotels)
Source: Knight Frank Research
12.1%
77.2%
2.4%
3.4%
4.8%
AUSTRALIA ASIA NORTH AMERICA EUROPE OTHER
FIGURE 5
Change in Sydney CBD Hotel
Ownership By Country, Jan 10 & Sept 15 (4&5 Star Hotels)
Source: Knight Frank Research
FIGURE 6
Sydney CBD Hotel Ownership (%) By Country, Jan 10 - Sept 15 (4&5 Star Hotels)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Jan
-10
Jan
-11
Jan
-12
Jan
-13
Jan
-14
Jan
-15
Cu
rren
t
CHINA/HONG KONG AUSTRALIA SINGAPORE OTHER OFFSHORE
Source: Knight Frank Research
Australia
China
Hong Kong
Malaysia
Singapore
US
Thailand
Other
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000
20
15 O
wn
ers
hip
by N
um
be
r o
f R
oo
ms
2010 Ownership by Number of Rooms
RECENT MARKET-LEADING RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
North Shore Office
Market Overview
October 2015
Sydney Residential
Development
H2 2015
Asia Pacific Capital
Markets Report
September 2015
Knight Frank Research Reports are available at KnightFrank.com.au/Research