Schwartz family offloads property portfolio
Melbourne’s powerful Schwartz family has been selling properties from its portfolio following the recent death of family matriarch Margit "Baba" Schwartz aged 89 years.
Properties sold include the 65-room Adina Hotel, Melbourne's oldest pub and a nine-level office building. They have reportedly sold for around $92 million.
Added to that are the 167-year-old Duke of Wellington pub with an adjoining nine-level office tower at 2 Russell Street, a car park, IGA supermarket and other laneway properties at 88 Flinders Street.
The Duke of Wellington hotel opposite Federation Square is Melbourne's oldest licensed venue. Purchased in 2003 by Developer Andor Schwartz, Margit's husband, for just $4.525 million, the development of the site saw a nine-level office tower was added to the rear.
The property at 88 Flinders Street is reported to have sold for about $54 million and the pub and office at 2 Russell Street reportedly fetched about $38 million.
Local parties and offshore buyers from Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Dubai, Taiwan and Hong Kong put in 35 separate bids for both properties.
Schwartz's three sons: Morry Schwartz, the founder of developer Pan Urban and publishing house Schwartz Media; developer Danny Schwartz; and Qualitas director Alan Schwartz who is married to Stockland director Carol Schwartz - the daughter or retail billionaire Marc Besen were the vendors. The brothers had inherited the portfolio from Andor and Margit
Schwartz Media is the company behind The Saturday Paper, The Monthly and Quarterly Essay.
"We were absolutely delighted with the final result achieved on both properties," Morry Schwartz told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"There is clearly a window for generational property owners to consider offloading their assets whilst the market is showing some very strong signs," he said.
The sales come in a busy fortnight for the commercial property market with Singapore fund manager TrustCapital Advisors this week finalising the sale of five major office buildings for $727.55 million, TrustCapital offloading three towers in Melbourne for $456.8 million, Sydney's 50 Pitt Street tower for $165 million and an office at 150 Charlotte Street in Brisbane for $105.75 million, and Singapore’s Tong Eng Group paying $77 million for the Myer family-owned Gateway office at 312 St Kilda Road.
by Leon Gettler, November 22nd 2017
