Singapore-listed office REIT, Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT) (SGX:ND8U), announced on 27 April that it will be acquiring a 25-storey office tower in Melbourne, Australia for a purchase consideration of AUD222.5 million (SGD231 million).

The property, 357 Collins Street, has Grade A specifications with a total net lettable area of 31,920 square metres, comprising office space of 30,095 square metres and retail space of 1,825 square metres.

357 Collins Street has a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.0 years and committed occupancy of 95.5% as of 31 March 2015. The property is being purchased from Australian developer Australand.

“The 357 Collins Street Acquisition marks FCOT’s maiden entry into the Melbourne CBD office market, the second largest office market in Australia”, said Low Chee Wah, CEO of FCOT’s manager, adding that the acquisition is expected to increase FCOT’s portfolio size by 14.2% from SGD1.8 billion to SGD2.0 billion.

On the same day, the REIT announced that it will facilitate the development of 16-storey hotel at China Square Central. The facilitation is estimated to provide FCOT with SGD44.4 million in net proceeds from the lease grant. Upon completion, the hotel will be operated by Frasers Hospitality under the ‘Capri by Fraser’ brand.

Units of FCOT are currently listed on the Singapore Exchange at SGD1.54.