Archive | Macquarie

Published 8 February 2010

Macquarie CountryWide Trust’s New Zealand portfolio of 17 retail properties provided the strongest performance in a December revaluation across all the trust’s 4 markets.

Market value of the whole portfolio slipped $A7 million (0.4%) below book value to $A1.973 billion, and the weighted average cap rate across Australia, New Zealand, the US & Europe softened by 7 basis points to 8.15%.

But the New Zealand portfolio was $A1.9 million (2.5%) ahead of book value at $A77.9 million and its weighted average cap rate firmed by 3 points to 7.97%.

The Australian portfolio, just over half the total at $A1.02 billion, increased $A3.5 million (0.3%) over book value but its cap rate soften by 11 points to 8.02%.

The US portfolio (excluding its US joint venture, which has partly been sold) dropped $A3.8 million (0.9%) below book value to $A413 million and its cap rate soften by 5 points to 8.43%.

The European portfolio dropped $A8.6 million (1.8%) to $A460 million and its cap rate softened by 4 points to 8.19%.

The trust revalued all its properties, with external revaluations on 69, directors’ valuations on 65. All 17 New Zealand valuations, representing 4% of the portfolio, were directors’ valuations.

The trust will release its half-year results on Friday 19 February.

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Attribution: Trust release, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 31 January 2010

Macquarie Group Ltd is looking at selling parts of its real estate funds management business to Charter Hall Group.

Macquarie runs 3 listed real estate funds – the Macquarie CountryWide Trust (retail assets, including some in New Zealand, valued at $A3.8 billion in June), Macquarie DDR Trust (US retail assets in partnership with Developers Diversified Realty Corp, valued at $A1.9 billion in June) & Macquarie Office Trust valued at $A4.19 billion at 31 December). The group also has 2 unlisted funds – Macquarie Direct Property Fund & Macquarie Martin Place Trust.

Macquarie Group said on 28 January it was “in discussion with Charter Hall regarding the potential acquisition of parts of Macquarie’s real estate funds management platform. The potential acquisition is incomplete, and subject to a number of conditions. There is no certainty that any transaction will proceed.”

Charter Hall Group is a property funds management & development company based in Sydney with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth & Auckland. It was listed on the ASX in 2005 as a stapled security, combining Charter Hall Ltd with Charter Hall Property Trust. It has $A3.2 billion under management.

Macquarie Group had $A149.1 billion of assets at March 2009, $A139.6 billion of liabilities. It will hold its annual operational briefing on Tuesday 9 February (live at 9.30am Sydney time).

The Macquarie DDR and Macquarie Office trusts will release their half-year results on Thursday 18 February, and Macquarie CountryWide will release its results the next day.

Macquarie Office Trust said on 28 January the value of its portfolio decreased by 3.75% to $A4.19 billion in the 6 months to 31 December. Chief executive Adrian Taylor said: “This movement partially reflects a softening of capitalisation rates of 24 basis points to 7.76%.

“As foreshadowed, asset values in the Australian portfolio appear to have stabilised and, encouragingly, the rate of valuation decline in our offshore portfolios has slowed considerably. The trust will continue to reinvest in its existing assets so that, as the market fundamentals improve, the portfolio should be in a position to benefit from a recovery.”

External valuations were undertaken on 8 properties (21% of the portfolio).

Link: Macquarie Group

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Attribution: Company releases, websites, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 30 August 2009

The Macquarie CountryWide Trust said on Friday it had issued $A265 million of commercial mortgage-backed securities.

It issued the main offering of $A225 million at a margin of 410 basis points, and a further subordinated tranche of $A40 million.

The trust’s principal lender, National Australia Bank, arranged the issue, which both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings had assigned preliminary AAA ratings. The facility has a 3-year term with an option to repay after 2 years. The trust will use proceeds from the issue, plus cash from recent asset sales, to repay its existing $A450 million CMBS facility next in September, ahead of its original maturity date of December.

Trust chief executive Steven Sewell said: “The new CMBS issue is an important step towards the trust accomplishing its key objectives of eliminating refinancing risk and positioning the trust for the future. The strong interest received in the new programme is testament to the high quality of the properties in the trust’s portfolio.

“Upon completion & issue of the CMBS notes, the trust will be positioned with a strong balance sheet, substantially reduced refinancing requirements and an increased portfolio weighting to Australia & New Zealand.”

National Australia Bank securitisation director Satish Chand said the transaction was “a key milestone for the Australian CMBS market.”

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Attribution: Trust release, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 10 August 2009

Macquarie Leisure Trust Group said today revaluations had cut its total tangible assets by 9% ($A61 million) at the 30 June balance date, to $A620 million.

Group chairman Neil Balnaves said the Dreamworld/WhiteWater World, d’Albora Marinas, AMF freehold & Dreamworld excess land portfolio had been revalued to $A420.1 million, reflecting an 11.7% decrease on current book value. In the US, the Main Event freehold portfolio of 3 sites had been revalued to $US21.1 million, down 17%.

The Dreamworld & WhiteWater World theme parks have been valued at $A285 million, down 11.5%.

The d’Albora Marina portfolio has been valued at $A81.5 million down 16.0%.

The AMF freehold portfolio consisted of 9 properties at 30 June, of which 6 were under contract for a total $A21.3 million. Those sale prices, net of costs, were used for valuation purposes and the remaining 3 properties have been independently revalued. The whole portfolio has been revalued to $A33.6 million, down 2%.

The Dreamworld excess land has been valued at $A20 million, down 11.5%. Mr Balnaves said the movement in values reflected the current market for development land in south-east Queensland. “The group is currently in advanced discussions in relation to the sale of a portion of this land, with a view to retaining the balance to cater for future car parking & expansion requirements of the Dreamworld theme park.”

Mr Balnaves said 3 AMF freehold sites had been sold for a gross $A12.2 million since June. The group held 6 more sites worth $A21.7 million for sale and had $A9.4 million under contract. 

The group’s gross Australian debt after completed sales was $A192 million, which would be reduced by it security purchase plan & completion of remaining AMF freehold sales.

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Attribution: Company release, story written by Bob Dey for the Bob Dey Property Report.

Published 28 February 2008

Macquarie CountryWide Trust told the market yesterday it increased distributable earnings for the December half by 2.5% to $A97.7 million, representing A7.35c/unit. Earnings before losses on asset sales were A7.76c/unit. The trust distributed 7.8c/unit to investors on 22 February.

What it didn’t highlight was the extent of the US earnings decline: Overall earnings for the December half dived 83% to $A35.6 million on revenue down 74% to $A72.7 million, mainly because of an $A49.7 million decline in valuations on US joint-venture properties and a $A5.2 million loss on sale of 9 US properties.

Property valuations in Australia & New Zealand rose by $A10.4 million, compared to an $A75.4 million gain a year earlier.

Net losses from derivative financial instruments were $A19.5 million compared to net gains of $A58.7 million a year earlier, the difference due mainly to unrealised losses from reductions in US interest rates in 2007.

In New Zealand, the trust lost $200,000 on the sale of 2 properties (Palmerston North & Mangere) for $16.7 million.

New Zealand same-store anchor tenant sales growth was 7.6%.

The trust’s portfolio of 273 properties is spread geographically between the US (62%), Australia & New Zealand (27%) & Europe (11%).

Chief executive Steven Sewell said the New Zealand portfolio had zero vacancies and recorded same-store net operating income growth of 4% (US 3.6%, Australia 3.3%).

“This performance was further supported by the continued strong demand in Australia & New Zealand from national brand retailers. At the same time, rental growth in all markets was driven by non-discretionary retailers seeking to base their business in retail properties that are well managed & anchored by market-leading retailers.”

Macquarie CountryWide completed 4 redevelopment projects in Australia and one in New Zealand during the 6 months, for a total  $A49.2 million at an average year-one yield of 8.5% (50% levered).

Mr Sewell said the trust comprehensively reviewed the valuation of its entire portfolio, including undertaking external valuations on 38 of its 273 properties. “Together with internal directors’ valuations, the portfolio value marginally decreased by $A39.3 million (0.7%), which implies an overall average increase in cap rates from 6.38% to 6.43%. NTA has marginally reduced (by A1c) to $A1.91.”

In conjunction with US partner Regency, Macquarie CountryWide sold 15 mature US assets in 2 stages. The south-east portfolio of 8 properties was sold in November for a gross $US104 million at an average cap rate of 6.8%. The 7-property mid-Atlantic portfolio has a contract on it for $US118.6 million, scheduled to close in March.

“In each instance, the sale price was in line with book value and management has utilised these funds to reduce gearing in the US venture, rather than reinvesting in current markets. Mr Sewell said that after repayment of a bridge facility, no debt facilities are due to expire this financial year and a minimal amount is due to expire in 2009. He said the trust was “looking at further opportunistic asset sales” to reduce gearing, which rose during the 6 months from 46.4% to 50.8%.

He said the outlook for the full year was for earnings of at least A15c/unit, “on a static portfolio basis and barring unforeseen occupancy loss”.

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Attribution: Trust release, presentation, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 29 June 2007

Macquarie ProLogis Trust unitholders have approved the $A1.43/unit cash offer from US infrastructure & logistics property company ProLogis, with barely 1% opposed.

Trading in the trust’s units will cease on Monday 2 July and it should be delisted on Monday 16 July.

Macquarie ProLogis was formed in 2002 and built up to total assets of $A2.1 billion, comprising an  interest in a portfolio of 138 warehouse & distribution facilities  in 32 markets throughout North America managed by ProLogis.

ProLogis made its cash offer to investors in the Australian trust. 18 months after the trust lost its exclusive right to new ProLogis product.

Macquarie ProLogis was one of the first ventures into listing US property for Australian investors. The 2 partners had a 50:50 management company and ProLogis maintained an 11% stake in the trust.

Earlier story:

18 April 2007: ProLogis to buy back Macquarie ProLogis

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Attribution: Trust release, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 20 April 2007

The Macquarie CountryWide Trust has bought 5 Polish hypermarket-anchored shopping centres & 2 German shopping centres in 2 separate transactions for a total €351 million.

The Sydney-based retail property specialist bought into the New Zealand supermarket sector with 13 Countdown purchases in 2000, but decided in December to sell a 50% interest in that portfolio. Those proceeds will now be used for the European purchases.

Macquarie CountryWide has been a heavy investor in US retail property and announced in late 2005 it was looking at Europe. It has an $A5 billion portfolio.

These transactions represent its initial entry into Europe and follow the trust’s stated strategy to redeploy capital from strategic asset sales to invest in accretive acquisitions.

Chief executive Steven Sewell said the Carrefour Group of France anchored the Polish properties and the Rewe Group of Germany the other 2. He said the transaction established a strong platform for Macquarie CountryWide to grow earnings in Europe.

Macquarie CountryWide is acquiring all 7 properties on a combined yield of 6.5% before acquisition costs, and the transaction is forecast to deliver a 12.2% internal rate of return. Mr Sewell said the trust sourced the deals through the Macquarie Real Estate Capital network, with Macquarie Global Property Advisors assisting with the Poland transaction & advising the trust.

Subject to no unforeseen factors or material adverse movements in exchange rates, management forecast that the trust would increase earnings/unit by 3.2% to 16.1c/unit for the 2008 financial year. This transaction would be 1.3% accretive to earnings.

Carrefour will retain ownership of its premises in the 5 sub-regional shopping centres in Poland. Macquarie CountryWide has acquired the specialty tenant malls but, as part of the co-ownership agreement in most cases, will have a first right to buy Carrefour’s holding in the event of a disposal.

The Polish portfolio has an average age of 6 years (one property was opened last September). Average occupancy is 96%, slightly below Macquarie CountryWide’s portfolio average of 96.8% per cent. With a weighted average lease expiry of 3.9 years, the trust expects to capture growth in net operating income as leases expire and remixing opportunities become available.

In Germany, the Rewe Group is the second largest grocery retailer. The 2 inner-city centres it’s sold have 93% occupancy. They were completed in the mid-90s.

Mr Sewell said Macquarie CountryWide would use proceeds from the New Zealand sale, euro-denominated debt and new equity to fund the purchases. The new equity includes an $A120 million institutional placement plus a unit purchase plan. Settlement of both portfolios is expected by 30 June. 

Earlier stories:

10 December 2006: Macquarie CountryWide sells 50% interest in Progressive supermarket properties

6 December 2006: Macquarie CountryWide launches CMBS programme to cut debt margin

18 January 2006: CountryWide spends $US270 million more on US shopping centres

23 November 2005: Europe next target for Macquarie CountryWide

12 December 2001: Macquarie CountryWide buys three Countdowns

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Attribution: Company statement, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 18 April 2007

US listed logistics & warehouse specialist ProLogis has made a cash offer to investors in the Australian listed joint venture, the Macquarie ProLogis Trust, 4½ years after it was launched and about 18 months after the trust lost its exclusive right to new ProLogis product.

Macquarie ProLogis was one of the first ventures into listing US property for Australian investors. The 2 partners had a 50:50 management company and ProLogis maintained an 11% stake in the trust.

ProLogis has proposed buying out the rest of the trust at $A1.43/unit, valuing the trust at $A1.24 billion and representing a 15.4% annual return since listing in 2002, an 11% premium to the trust’s volume-weighted average price for the last month, a 32% premium over the $A1.08/unit adjusted NTA, including deferred tax liabilities, and an 11% premium over the $A1.,29/unit NTA excluding those liabilities.

The trust’s independent directors have recommended the offer as fair & reasonable. Independent director Trevor Gerber said yesterday: “From inception through to the end of 2005, exclusive access to ProLogis’ development pipeline in North America had been a key plank of the trust’s strategy. Following significant increases in the value of US industrial property, however, it became increasingly difficult for the trust to acquire ProLogis assets in an accretive manner.”

Given the growth in ProLogis’ North American development pipeline and ProLogis’ need for a reliable capital source to fund this pipeline, ProLogis North American Industrial Fund was established in early 2006. This new fund was granted a right of first offer over ProLogis’ developments in the US.

“Once the exclusive access was no longer available to the trust, it became evident to the board, reinforced by investor feedback, that we needed to review the strategic direction of Macquarie ProLogis.”

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Published 23 March 2007

Macquarie Leisure Trust Group has completed the acquisition of the Panmure Superbowl in Auckland for $1.5 million.

The Australian trust bought its first New Zealand bowling centre, the Garden City Bowl in Christchurch, in March last year.

Macquarie Leisure chief executive Greg Shaw said: “With a focus on acquiring underperforming leisure businesses, we expect this portfolio to continue to deliver strong returns for our investors as we complete redevelopment opportunities and improve the product offering at these centres.”

The Panmure Superbowl is an integrated bowling & entertainment venue comprising 24 lanes of 10-pin bowling, an amusement games area for 60 machines, 8 pool tables, a laser tag arena and a licensed bar, restaurant & café.

Mr Shaw said the acquisition would be immediately accretive to earnings and ebitda earnings post-development should be significantly enhanced to $600,000/year within 2 years.

He said Macquarie Leisure would continue to aggressively pursue underperforming leisure businesses in the New Zealand market where operational restructuring could deliver significant earnings upside.

Macquarie Leisure Trust Group is a stapled entity with more than $A600 million of assets under management. The group owns & operates Dreamworld, WhiteWater World, d’Albora Marinas, AMF Bowling & Main Event.

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Attribution: Company release, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 29 December 2006

Macquarie Office Trust has made a 20% gain on the sale of 2 Sydney buildings for $A125.2 million and is reinvesting the money in Berlin.

Chief executive Adrian Taylor said the trust would buy a fully leased office building in the Charlottenburg district for €84.7 million on a 6% yield and at a discount to valuation.

The building is 87% occupied by Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems on a double net lease. Mr Taylor said the €120/m² annual passing rent was below market and the acquisition price was below both valuation & replacement cost.

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