Deals

CPPIB, ADIA commit extra $90m to Aussie development

AMP Capital, the Sydney-based investment manager has drawn extra capital from heavyweights CPPIB and ADIA for its now $670m Pacific Fair shopping mall project.

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More than a year after buying the Australian shopping center Pacific Fair, Sydney-based investment manager AMP Capital is ready to commence its $670 million redevelopment project with the injection of another $90 million of capital from its investors, according to a firm statement.

The investors are the $177 billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and United Arab Emirates sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), according to an AMP spokeswoman. Both had committed to this development before through the $1.2 billion AMP Capital Retail Trust fund – in which CPPIB and ADIA are two of only three investors.

Originally, the Pacific Fair redevelopment on Australia’s Gold Coast was slated for $580 million of capital and 460,000 square feet of leasable retail space. However, AMP and its investors have decided to expand the redevelopment to approximately 501,000 square feet, for which the investors committed an additional $90 million to the Retail Trust, the spokeswoman explained.

The development is expected to give Pacific Fair an additional 100 shops and 1,300 more parking spaces. Upon completion, Pacific Fair will be the largest shopping center in Queensland and the fourth largest center in Australia. AMP expects the center to benefit from about 11.5 million tourists coming to the Gold Coast each year.

“Attracting tourists is a key focus for the center,” AMP shopping centers managing director Bryan Hynes said in the statement. “Pacific Fair will be a Gold Coast ‘must-visit’, with a five-star resort ambience and a unique indoor/outdoor environment reflecting the Queensland lifestyle.”

Since buying out global retail property development giant Westfield Group, AMP owns Pacific Fair in its entirety. The Retail Trust fund owns 80 percent, while the remaining 20 percent is owned by the $4.3 billion AMP Core Property Portfolio fund. Both funds will contribute similar proportions of the redevelopment capital, according to the AMP spokeswoman.

AMP acts as the property manager and developer, but has appointed Westfield Design and Construction to build the development, with an expected completion date of late 2016, according to the statement.