Europeans back in the game as Deka closes in on Brisbane tower

The tower, located in Brisbane’s ‘Golden Triangle’ at 66 Eagle Street, hit the market in its entirety in September after Lendlease folllowed the lead of its co-owner, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which decided to sell its half stake back in June.

JLL and Cushman & Wakefield are running the sales campaign but declined to comment.

Deka’s pursuit of the Brisbane asset is the latest indication European investors are edging back into Australia’s commercial property market after a period of lacklustre activity.

Europe’s record low interest rates, relative to Australia’s at the time, had caused hedging costs to rise and encouraged institutional investors to deploy capital in other markets.

Fund managers and selling agents say Australia’s new low interest rate environment and higher yield environment relative to Europe is making the market a more attractive proposition.

Other European investors have also re-emerged in the local market in the past year.

In September, the real estate arm of Zurich-based investment bank Credit Suisse emerged as the buyer of the Jubilee Place office development in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in a $180 million forward-funding deal.

Late last year, Deka bought the Sydney CBD property that houses Bulgari’s flagship store at 64-68 Castlereagh Street for $56 million.