MA Financial Buys 50% Stake in Melbourne Mall for A$327.5M, Launches Retail Fund
MA Financial has acquired a 50% stake in The Glen shopping centre in Glen Waverley, Melbourne, for A$327.5 million, implying a passing yield of about 7%. The Sydney-based fund manager also launched a large format retail fund seeded by the Eastern Creek Quarter Large Format Retail Centre, targeting A
Alternative asset management firm MA Financial has acquired a 50 per cent stake in The Glen, a suburban Melbourne shopping centre, for A$327.5 million ($233.4 million), and separately launched a large format retail fund targeting a portfolio valued at more than A$500 million.
The Sydney-based fund manager purchased its half-interest in the mall, about 26 kilometres from central Melbourne, from the privately held Perron Group. The acquisition price implies a passing yield of about 7 per cent, and the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026. “This was a rare investment opportunity to acquire a 50 per cent share in a large-scale high-performing shopping centre that is an entrenched retail destination in one of Melbourne’s most affluent catchment areas,” said Chris Lock, MA Financial’s co-head of core real estate.
The acquisition of the mall at 235 Springvale Road in Glen Waverley adds to a string of shopping centre buys since MA Financial bought retail fund specialist IP Generation last year, including its recent purchases of Taigum Square Shopping Centre in Brisbane and Eastern Creek Quarter Large Format Retail Centre (ECQ XL) in Western Sydney from Vicinity Centres for a combined A$170 million. “Following the settlement of these recently exchanged assets, MA Financial will have almost A$5 billion of retail real estate assets in its funds, having transacted on an additional A$2 billion of assets since acquiring the IP Generation business just 12 months ago,” said Julian Biggins, MA Financial’s joint chief executive.
The Glen is a two-level shopping centre anchored by tenants including Target, Uniqlo, David Jones, and supermarkets ALDI, Coles, and Woolworths. The property also features an outdoor dining precinct and more than 205 specialty stores, according to Vicinity Centres, which owns the remaining 50 per cent interest. The asset, which has a 99 per cent occupancy rate, has a gross lettable area of 76,488 square metres (823,310 square feet) and attracts 14.9 million visitors a year. The centre opened in 1967 and underwent an A$430 million redevelopment completed in 2020, alongside a separate A$450 million residential precinct, Sky Garden, built by Golden Age Group.
ECQ XL will be the seed asset in the MA Large Format Retail Fund, with MA Financial seeking to raise an initial A$28 million to fund the acquisition. “We have strong conviction in Australian large format retail, where constrained supply, low vacancy rates and embedded rental reversion are creating attractive opportunities for income growth,” said Lock. Vacancy rates for Australian large format retail assets have tightened to 2.8 per cent, and market rents are up 21 per cent since 2020, according to CBRE. Expiring leases across listed large retail asset portfolios are currently resetting at 6 to 8 per cent above passing rent, MA Financial said.
CBRE’s head of Pacific retail capital markets, Simon Rooney, who brokered the off-market transaction, said: “The Glen transaction delivered an exceptional off market and strategic opportunity to secure a 50% interest in a major, high-quality and Melbourne metropolitan located, regional shopping centre.” Rooney noted that Australia’s retail sector leads commercial real estate investment activity, with more than A$4.5 billion in regional shopping centre transactions recorded so far this year. MA Financial, which oversees A$15.5 billion of assets, has been among the most active acquirers of retail assets in Australia this year, including teaming up with Coombes Property Group in May to acquire Midtown Melbourne for A$154 million.
