SINGAPORE, 2 AUGUST 2017 – Rockworth Capital Partners Pte Ltd (“RCP” or the “Group”), is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 22-storey freehold office building located at 390 St Kilda Road, Melbourne (“390 St Kilda” or the “Property”).

The Property is strategically located in the high-profile corner of St Kilda Road and Bowen Lane with unrivalled views of Port Phillip Bay, Albert Park Lake, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Melbourne CBD. It is the tallest, and most connected office building in the St Kilda Road given its close proximity of 100 metres to the upcoming Domain Train Station and a short 1.8km to the Melbourne CBD. With 16,307 sqm of office accommodation, 212 basement car park spaces and a main lobby on the ground level, the Property has attracted a strong and diverse tenant base, and enjoys a high occupancy rate of 98%, which is above the St Kilda Road office precinct’s average occupancy rate of 87%. The unique characteristics of the Property translated into an excellent history of high tenant retention and its ability to attract new tenants including Toll Transport, Quest Service Apartments, Government of Chile, Downing Teal and Battiston Consulting. The Property has recently undergone a refurbishment programme which included a full lift upgrade, the façade’s remediation and repainting, and ground floor lobby refurbishment.

Market watchers expect an office market recovery in the St Kilda Road precinct in light of the withdrawals of office space inventory over the next three years. The precinct is the only office market in Australia with a reducing net supply as no office buildings have been built in the area since 1992, and none are currently planned in the foreseeable future. Colliers International forecasts the total office space to decline 15% over the next five years from 683,936 sqm in 2017 to 580,000 sqm in 2022. As a knock-on effect, rents are expected to increase over the same period.

The Property is also well positioned to benefit from the Domain Train Station. Accessibility to the St Kilda Road precinct will be further enhanced with the completion of the Domain Station on St Kilda Road, part of the Australian government’s A$10.9 billion metro tunnel project. Upon completion, the Domain Station is expected to provide access to 33,000 jobs and 17,000 residents in the precinct.

Lim Kin Song, Chief Executive Officer of the Group, commented: “The acquisition of 390 St Kilda has further enhanced our portfolio’s tenant and income diversification for our investors. At RCP, we seek to deliver value by identifying stable, income producing assets and opportunistic investments that have the potential for value extraction. We believe that the Property presents our investors with untapped potential and is well positioned to capitalise on the future growth prospects of the St Kilda Road precinct given its superior location, the unique characteristics of the Property and its surrounding developments.”