Bridgehill takes profit on $130m Milsons Point sale

Bridgehill Group has offloaded one of its prized holdings, the Kimberley-Clark office building at 52 Alfred Street, Milsons Point just north of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for a price close to $130 million.

An overseas Chinese buyer purchased the 10,000-square-metre building for investment, giving Bridgehill a profit close to $50 million, sources have said.

Bridgehill, which has completed several successful apartment projects including Bridgehill Residences also at Milsons Point, acquired the tower two years ago from Rich List property investor Bob Ell, for $80 million.

Bob Ell, through his company Leda, bought it for $50 million in 2010. The sale by Bridgehill will crystallise a gain of around $80 million in six years for a building which does not have any current development upside.

For Bridgehill, the sale ended what has been a buoyant one-year sale when several offers of $110 million were made, including one in the past few weeks.

The building is leased to US company Kimberly-Clark and there are also several commercial parking arrangements for its basement.

Portfolio restructure

Bridgehill managing director Yibin Xu said the company sold the property as part of a portfolio restructure but declined to comment on the sale.

While holding good sites for residential development was key, the company was open to selling its sites, he added.

“Any stock is priced for sale,” Mr Xu said.

Bridgehill was one of the first Chinese property developers to spot opportunities in Sydney’s apartment market and land-banked several top inner-city sites.

It also delivered on two luxury apartment projects, the Azure and Monaco, in Sydney’s waterside suburb of Rhodes and it has just launched its $105 million residential project at the $13 billion Green Square precinct in inner south Sydney for sale.

Fifty-two Alfred Street, while not approved for residential conversion, can yield 175 to 200 apartments.

Any new apartments there would have to compete with Aqualand’s new luxury project at 61 Lavender Street, a short distance away.

Aqualand acquired the building last week for $140 million, with plans to build 135 apartments.

Originally published by Financial Review