Historic Murray Street freehold hits Perth market
Home to brands including Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Chanel and Dior, the western end of Murray Street has emerged as Perth’s premier luxury retail precinct and one of Australia’s most exclusive shopping destinations.
Now, investors have been presented with a rare opportunity to acquire a landmark freehold in the heart of the strip for the first time in 80 years.
The evolution of a tightly held high-street destination
The heritage-listed property at 317-319 Murray Street is a fully activated mixed-use building that occupies a prominent position between William and King streets and is home to the West Australian flagship boutique of Swiss watchmaker Omega.
Neighbouring occupiers include luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Gucci, Chanel, Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Nick Charlton, co-head of capital markets and investment sales Western Australia at Cushman & Wakefield, says opportunities of this calibre are exceptionally rare.
“Murray Street has evolved into one of Australia’s most tightly held luxury retail precincts, and assets of this scale and quality are almost never available,” he says.
“What makes this offering particularly compelling is the combination of irreplaceable location, genuine heritage character and the flexibility to further activate and reposition parts of the building over time.”
The 1551 square metre building on a 597 square metre landholding benefits from a triple-frontage position and an extensive 49-metre laneway elevation. It incorporates retail, office and accommodation, providing investors with multiple income streams and opportunities for future repositioning.
Preserving heritage character within a modern commercial footprint
Significant updates have been undertaken by the current owner, including the installation of a new passenger lift servicing all levels, upgraded end-of-trip facilities, tenancy refurbishments and modernised building services. Despite the upgrades, the property retains many of its original heritage features, including pressed-tin ceilings, English cast steel columns and jarrah detailing.
Charlton’s co-head, Ben Younger, says the first-floor tenancy is among the finest character office spaces in the Perth CBD and combines exposed brick, steel and jarrah finishes with exceptional natural light.
“The asset also benefits from genuine flexibility across retail, hospitality and office use, with frontage to both Murray Street and Wolf Lane creating strong long-term activation potential,” he adds.
The precinct has benefited from substantial public and private investment in recent years, alongside growing tourism expenditure and increased foot traffic generated by the nearby opening of Edith Cowan University’s city campus. These factors have helped transform the western end of Murray Street into a destination for luxury retail and premium lifestyle brands.
Zaahen Kahn, associate director at Cushman & Wakefield, says the campaign is expected to attract strong interest from private capital groups, family offices and offshore investors seeking long-term scarcity value.
“Freeholds of this nature are incredibly difficult to replicate, particularly within established luxury retail precincts where supply remains permanently constrained,” he says.
“We expect strong interest from investors looking for a generational asset with secure underlying fundamentals and future upside within one of Australia’s fastest-evolving CBD retail markets.”
The international expressions-of-interest campaign closes at 2pm AWST on Friday, July 3.
