Link Real Estate Partners Buying Sydney Shed Project From Dexus JV for $80M

Link Real Estate Partners, the private funds arm of Hong Kong’s Link Asset Management, has agreed to acquire an under-development western Sydney logistics project, with market sources confirming a deal value of A$121.5 million ($80.4 million).

The four-warehouse project with adjoining offices is held by a venture whose partners include Australian real estate giant Dexus and a Dexus-managed private fund. The purpose-built complex at 149 Orchard Road in Chester Hill will span 24,100 square metres (259,410 square feet) of gross lettable area upon completion in the third quarter of 2025.

“Chester Hill is a rapidly emerging industrial precinct, with a convenient location ensuring ease and efficiency for storage and distribution,” ASX-listed Dexus said in a fact sheet about the project.

Mingtiandi understands that the parties are staying hushed until the deal’s closing, which remains subject to certain conditions. The transaction was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield’s Tony Iuliano and Adrian Rowse, who declined to comment when contacted Thursday, as did a Link representative.

Maiden Aussie Buy

The pending acquisition, first reported Wednesday by The Australian, marks the first investment Down Under for LREP, which launched in February this year with former BlackRock Asia real estate boss John Saunders at the helm. The founding of LREP culminated a year-long effort by Link Asset Management to ramp up its funds capability after exclusively managing Link REIT, Asia’s biggest listed property trust.

After first entering Australia in 2019 with the REIT’s acquisition of 100 Market Street in Sydney, Link recently appointed Charter Hall veteran Julian Menegazzo as head of investment for Australia, where the $28.8 billion trust has picked up interests in nine commercial assets after venturing beyond its Hong Kong retail roots.

Menegazzo spent four years at Charter Hall as a member of the ASX-listed fund manager’s direct investment team and previously served more than 13 years in various roles at Sydney-based AMP Capital.

Link has continued to make moves to bolster the leadership of its 1,400 staff in the region, including the elevation of chief operating officer for international Greg Chubb to the Hong Kong headquarters after hiring the former Charter Hall retail executive in 2022.

Changing of the Guard

News of the Sydney shed deal emerged one day after longtime Link chief executive George Hongchoy announced his intention to retire by mid-2026.

Having joined Link REIT in 2009 as chief financial officer, Hongchoy was promoted to CEO a year later and was included in a Harvard Business Review list of the world’s 100 best-performing chief executives in 2019.

HKEX-listed Link REIT is preparing to mark its 20th anniversary in November of this year with the trust having expanded from managing just Hong Kong retail assets to an owner of properties across asset classes in five markets, including Europe.

Since its 2005 initial public offering, Link REIT has delivered annualised total returns to unitholders of 10.9 percent, which is more than double the performance of the local stock market index over the same period.