Casino magnate purchases office complex in Sydney

A local private company associated with gambling magnate, Loi Keong Kuong, will buy a prize office complex sold by Sydney-based real estate group, Markham, in a deal worth some AUD265 million, The Australian reported.

Located at 179 Elizabeth Street, opposite the city’s Hyde Park, the company is expected to capitalize on both the building’s long-term conversion potential and the city’s rising rental prices.

Back in 2016, the company also bought the ExxonMobil headquarters at Riverside Quay in Melbourne’s Southbank for AUD160 million.

The buyer is expected to undertake an office refurbishment of the Riverside Quay address to convert it into a hotel, located near James Packer’s Crown casino.

The Melbourne site is also expected to become a hotel and gaming venue  in the longer term.

However, the magnate will have to wait until 2050, when the Packer company’s monopoly lease is due to expire.

In Sydney, the Loi family could pursue a longer-term residential or hotel conversion, as the strip is changing.

The report noted that buyers of Sydney office towers including Zone Q and Greaton are chasing upside risk by charging higher levels of rent, rather than undertaking short-term developments.

Meanwhile, Loi’s family will also benefit from the multi-tenanted building due to the city’s rising rent.

Built in 1992, the building has retail space on the ground floor and four basement levels of parking.

The tower has a weighted average lease expiry of 3.9 years.