Caniwi Capital snaps up another Wellington student apartment complex

Friday 29th May 2015

Wellington based investment firm Caniwi Capital has paid $33.3 million to acquire a newly refurbished Victoria University student accommodation block formerly housing ANZ Bank operations in the Wellington central business district.

The purchase of 175 The Terrace follows Caniwi's acquisition in 2013 of a Boulcott St multi-storey building for $14.3 million, also converted from commercial use to student accommodation.

The firm now has a $125 million commercial property portfolio in Wellington, including an ANZ process centre in Tory St, a Ministry of Social Development call centre in Lower Hutt and two buildings containing operations of The Warehouse, in Petone, Caniwi principal Troy Bowker told BusinessDesk. The company has invested a total $250 million in commercial property around New Zealand, including regional chicken rearing facilities leased long term to poultry firms Tegel and Inghams.

Caniwi also owns the Hamilton based Stowers packaging company and has some $70 million of further acquisitions in the pipeline at various stages of readiness, said Bowker, who sees the commercial property market as being "mid-cycle", reflected in the fact that yields are falling closer to long-term bond yields, which remain at historic lows.

The property at 175 The Terrace carries a 15 year lease to Victoria University, with the average lease term across Caniwi's portfolio sitting at 18.5 years.

That compared with 6.5 years average lease terms for listed property trusts, said Bowker, who had "no plans at this stage" to list his portfolio.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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