Grand Plaza Acquisition Ups EG Funds’ Portfolio to $1 Billion

Did you know that the Grand Plaza shopping centre in Brown Plains is now partly owned by investment house EG Funds Management? Early this year, EG’s Australian Core Enhanced (ACE) acquired a half stake in the centre from Invesco through an off-market deal understood to be around $220 million.



US investment house Vicinity Centres, which now holds the other 50 per cent stake, acquired the mall at 27-49 Brown Plains Road in Logan four years ago from its wholesale fund Vicinity Retail Partnership for A$215 million.  

The deal that was inked last March 2022 means the EG’s Australian Core Enhanced Fund now has fourteen core-plus assets Australia under its portfolio. The transaction was struck at an acquisition core capitalisation rate of just below six per cent.

“EG’s Australian Core Enhanced Fund now owns 14 core-plus assets across Australia in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, eight of which were purchased in the last 12 months ,” ACE Fund Manager and Executive Director, Chris Pak said.

ACE Fund Manager and Executive Director, Chris Pak
ACE Fund Manager and Executive Director, Chris Pak | Photo Credit: EG Fund Management / eg.com.au

“It was a case of acting quickly and intelligently when the pandemic triggered an abrupt reset of values and we identified the opportunity to grow a diversified portfolio of office, retail and industrial assets worth over $1 billion for our investors.”



Situated approximately 27km south of Brisbane, Grand Plaza is known as the world’s first shopping centre to offer rooftop drone delivery. Anchored by Big W, Kmart, Target, ALDI, Coles, Woolworths and Event Cinemas, the centre has a gross lettable area of 53,288sqm and features a recently refurbished food court and more than a hundred specialty stores. 

Grand Plaza shopping centre also features at-grade parking facilities that can accommodate about 2,500 cars and currently has more than 180,000sqm of underutilised space. The mall is expected to gain from the anticipated capital growth and cap rate compression across the country’s retail markets this year.

“Value can be extracted from this asset with an active asset management strategy to enhance the retail offering and tenant mix,” EG’s Head of Capital Transactions, Sean Fleming said.

EG manages a total of $5.1 billion in assets on behalf of super funds and private wealth clients. It has around $3.9 billion already in the development pipeline and $760 million in residential sales in the last two years with 16.7 per cent per annum realised IRR for institutional funds.