Dexus Property Group opens office in Newport Beach
The move by the Australian commercial real estate giant comes in anticipation of it acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars worth of industrial properties.
The move by the Australian commercial real estate giant comes in anticipation of it acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of industrial properties.
FOR THE RECORD:
Dexus Property Group: An article in Thursday’s Business section about plans by Australian commercial real estate giant Dexus Property Group to significantly increase its industrial property holdings in West Coast markets quoted Dexus Chief Executive Victor Hoog Antink but incorrectly referred to him subsequently as Antink. His surname is Hoog Antink. —
Australian commercial real estate giant Dexus Property Group said Wednesday that it had opened an office in Newport Beach in anticipation of acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of industrial properties.
Dexus is one of the biggest landlords in the world with nearly $11 billion of offices, warehouses and shopping centers in Australia, Europe and North America. The real estate investment trust owns more than 100 industrial properties in the United States and Canada. Among them are massive warehouses in Riverside and Los Angeles counties rented by retailers Whirlpool Corp. and Skechers USA Inc.
Dexus plans to refocus its $1.2 billion in holdings in the United States — now in 17 markets around the country — to be more heavily concentrated in West Coast markets serving the seaports of Seattle, the Bay Area and Los Angeles County.
The heaviest emphasis will be in Southern California, Chief Executive Victor Hoog Antink said, where Dexus will take over management of properties it already owns and start acquiring and managing others. Dexus gradually will sell its properties in the eastern U.S. to fund investment on the West Coast but also has set aside $100 million to fund acquisitions now.
By concentrating its holdings in fewer markets, Dexus should be able to take advantage of economies of scale and provide more options for its tenants, Antink said.
Values of the company’s U.S. properties fell as much as 40% during the recession but appear to leveling out, Antink said. The market is now crowded with potential investors, but Dexus has the connections to find investments over the next six to 12 months, he said.
Many commercial landlords are still plagued with high vacancies and low rents, but Antink predicts the market will recover, perhaps sharply, in the next six to 18 months.
“Looking from offshore, one of the things you can bet on is that America is so resourceful that it will turn around faster and with greater velocity than people anticipate,” he said.
The Newport Beach office will be headed by Jane Lloyd, managing director of U.S. investments. She was most recently head of retail operations for Dexus.
