AMP Snares Major Stake in Brookfield Wynyard Towers

AMP capital has firmed up its partnership with real estate giant Brookfield, acquiring a 50 per cent stake in two buildings on Carrington Street in Sydney.

The towers, at 50 and 60 Carrington Street, are down the road from the centrepiece of Brookfield’s $2 billion Wynyard Place development, the 27-storey 67,000sq m 10 Carrington Street which sits atop Wynyard station.

Sources told The Urban Developer that AMP acquired the Carrington Street assets on a mandate from an overseas investor. AMP’s 50 per cent stake in the two towers is worth an estimated $500 million.

Fund manager AMP first secured a stake in Brookfield’s Wynyard Place development in September 2017, acquiring a 25 per cent interest in the urban renewal project. Super fund and AMP client UniSuper also took a near-quarter interest in the development – the transaction signalled Australia’s largest office deal and was struck on a tight sub-5 per cent yield.

Both AMP and Cushman & Wakefield's Josh Cullen and Steven Kearney declined to comment.

Related: GPT, AMP and Brookfield Revise $1 Billion Darling Harbour Proposal

The two B-grade buildings offer a total of about 26,000sq m of office space. The 13-storey, 50 Carrington Street tower was built in 2008 and acquired by Brookfield in 2014 for $86 million.

Brookfield acquired 60 Carrington Street in 2015 for $117 million, undertaking major renovations in 2016. The tower was built in 1971.

The Wynyard Place precinct is bounded by George, Margaret and Carrington streets in Sydney’s CBD.

When completed in 2020, the precinct will offer 3,500sq m of high-end retail along with a “once in a generation” upgrade to Wynyard station.

Brookfield will also restore the heritage-listed Shell House and 285 George Street, offering an additional 10,000sq m of office space to the area.