DWS Buys Central Sydney Office Building From Milligan Group for $105M

Funds managed by DWS Group have acquired an office building in central Sydney, with the transaction valuing 32-36 York Street at A$153 million ($105 million), according to company disclosures and market sources.

The German asset manager purchased a 49 percent stake in the asset via its Grundbesitz Global real estate fund for €46.1 million, implying a total asset value of €94.1 million. The remaining 51 percent interest was acquired by a separately managed account backed by a German institutional investor, according to market sources who spoke to Mingtiandi.

Located in Sydney’s central business district, 32-36 York Street comprises an 11-storey boutique office building integrating a restored 1886 warehouse with a newly completed extension, providing 8,200 square metres (88,264 square feet) of total lettable area. The seller, local builder Milligan Group, had been seeking to offload the property as part of a broader push to recycle capital.

“We have witnessed demand increasingly focus on high‑quality, centrally located office buildings with excellent sustainability attributes,” Ben Taylor, head of Australia real estate at DWS, said Monday in a release. “This transaction demonstrates our local team’s ability to execute high conviction, research led investment strategies.”

Back in Action

The deal, which is understood to have closed in late February, marks the first property investment in Asia Pacific announced by DWS since Taylor joined the firm last month from The Living Company, where he served for just over a year as fund manager for the Aussie group’s $3.8 billion open-ended student housing vehicle.

The York Street purchase, translating to A$18,659 ($12,798) per square metre of lettable space, also represents the first new investment by the Grundbesitz Global fund since 2022, as the manager sees improved entry pricing following interest-rate-driven repricing across global real estate markets.

The asset features large windows, high ceilings and flexible floorplates, with ground-floor retail and restaurant space, and sits within walking distance of Wynyard and Town Hall railway stations. DWS cited Sydney’s strong economic and demographic foundation, alongside limited new supply, as supporting long-term demand for modern office space. 

“32 York Street offered a strategic opportunity to acquire a newly completed ‘next-gen’ boutique Sydney office asset, providing our investors exposure to strengthening Sydney office market fundamentals,” Taylor said.

Prime rents in the Sydney CBD rose 6.5 percent year-on-year to an average of A$1,540 per square metre in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to JLL. Vacancy stood at 14.7 percent, with availability expected to tighten as limited new construction and asset withdrawals constrain supply, the consultancy said in a report.

New Korea Boss

Frankfurt-based DWS is continuing to refresh its Asia Pacific team with the appointment of Lee Tae-Young as representative director and CEO of its Korean business, effective immediately, according to a separate Monday announcement.

Lee, a more than two-decade veteran of the firm, will be responsible for driving growth strategy in South Korea while strengthening client coverage and integration with the global investment platform, reporting to APAC head Vanessa Wang.

The executive succeeds Byun Hyun-Soo, who will remain chairman during a transition period, as DWS seeks to deepen relationships with institutional clients and expand its footprint in one of the region’s key capital markets.