DECEMBER 2014

PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS

© Pitcher Partners 2014

Inside Cover: Melbourne skyline

Front Cover: Brisbane, CBD

CONTENTS5 WELCOME

7 COMMERCIAL SNAPSHOT

9 RESIDENTIAL SNAPSHOT

10 INBOUND SINGAPORE INVESTMENT INTO

AUSTRALIA

11 INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY EXPANSION –

A CLIENT CASE STUDY – UEM SUNRISE

12 FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIAN

REAL ESTATE

13 CHINESE INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA

14 IMPLICATIONS OF E-TAILING FOR

WAREHOUSING IN AUSTRALIA

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5PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

WELCOME

By Andrew Beitz, Pitcher Partners, Adelaide

At Pitcher Partners we have a passion for the property industry. We are attuned to the needs of all contributors in this complex and exciting sector – owners, developers, investors, builders, valuers, agents and of course debt/ equity participants. We have a well-established and proven track record in contributing to our clients’ success based on our extensive knowledge and our intimate approach to servicing our clients.

This issue of Property of Pitcher Partners focuses on Internationalisation and the Australian property industry.

Firstly, we look at an update of the residential and commercial snapshots where Claire Cupitt, Associate Director, Global Research and Consulting, CBRE gives us in-depth analysis and trends of both these sectors.

Jonathan Yeo of Pitcher Partners Sydney takes a look at the Singapore property market and investment into Australia, recapping the Baker Tilly Pitcher Partners seminar held in the region earlier this year.

Pitcher Partners Melbourne Partner Andrew Clugston shares a case study with UEM Sunrise of Malaysia outlining key investments they have made in the Australian property market and lessons learned when conducting these transactions.

Brian Pass of DLA Piper Australia and Leon Mok of Pitcher Partners Perth take us through the Regulations of Foreign Investment, investing in Australian real estate, the FIRB process and the importance of bringing the right teams together to succeed.

In addition, I have written an article on the increase in Chinese investment into Australia and how Australian companies can in fact benefit from this new source of capital.

Finally James Condon and Chris Ireland of Savills take a look at the how purchasing is now global and how this is impacting the Australian property industry with a particular focus on warehousing. They look at how demand is increasing, the upward pressure on rent and the need for facilities to be flexible.

We welcome your feedback – if you have any suggestions for articles you would like us to cover in future editions please send them through to info@pitcher-sa.com.au.

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Image: Melbourne CBD

7PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

By Claire Cupitt, Associate Director, Global Research and Consulting, CBRE

Over the last two years Australia has seen significant capital inflows from offshore investors, taking net overseas interest in Australian non-residential real estate to $18.8bn since 2007, of which approximately 69% has been in office assets. The strong inflows have complemented the resurgence in demand from the AREIT sector for core office assets, driving the uplift in office development activity through capital partnering and fund through arrangements with developers. In the last three months alone, $3.96bn in office assets transacted nationally, 32% to foreign investors. The largest office asset to transact in recent months was 52 Martin Place, Sydney CBD for $533.3m to REST Superannuation on a yield of 5.20%. The tight pricing of this asset partially reflects the long term (30+year) WALE. This followed the sale of 275 Kent Street, Sydney CBD for $435m on a yield of 6.72% to Blackstone. In Melbourne, two large scale transactions concluded in recent months reflect the tighter pricing environment for core office assets seen over the last twelve months. The sale of 700 Bourke Street for $433.5m to AMP Wholesale Office Fund reflected a yield of 5.75%, while the joint purchase of CBW (corner of Bourke and William Streets) by GPT Group and GPT Wholesale Office Fund for $608m represented 6.10%.

Despite the strong investor demand for Australian office assets (particularly prime stock on the eastern seaboard), leasing markets remain challenging with a long and drawn out period of below average tenant demand. No major office market in Australia has been immune with above average vacancy and historically high incentives a feature across the board. This environment has kept face rental growth at a minimum for a number of years and pushed effective rents lower. This is still happening (albeit to a lesser extent) in most CBD’s.

For some time the disconnect between office asset pricing and demand fundamentals has led discussion around the sustainability of yield compression in Australia’s core office markets. Over the last two years the trend in prime office asset pricing has largely reflected lower IRR’s on the back of the lower cost of borrowing and falling risk premiums. This occurred in contrast to soft tenant demand rendering face rental growth flat (whilst falling in an effective sense) and bond rates steadily rising. This environment saw average Australian CBD prime office yields compress by just 50 basis points from Sept 12 to Sept 14.

While the extent of the compression in prime office yields to date has been relatively muted compared to other major markets across the world, directionally the trend in pricing has been out of sync with market fundamentals and more importantly the expectations for growth in rents over the medium to long term. This is now beginning to change, evidenced by softening in yields in Brisbane and Perth.

It seems that in Q3 2014 a combination of factors has changed the momentum in pricing in certain markets. In addition to soft growth expectations (which have been present for some time), rising risk premiums on the back of global instability and heightened global growth risks have emerged. The combinations of these factors have started to weigh on the pricing environment for commercial office assets (also seen in other asset markets such as equities).

In terms of local market fundamentals, vacancy is rising with incentives expected to remain at historic highs until the cycle troughs. The peak in vacancy is expected to be highest in Perth (19%), followed by Brisbane (18.5%), Canberra (16%), Adelaide (14%), Sydney (11%) and Melbourne (10%). While the outlook for vacancy in Sydney and Melbourne remain within the realm of previous cycles, forecast vacancy in Brisbane and Perth are well above levels seen over the last two decades. In line with our view that vacancy risk is concentrated in Brisbane and Perth CBD’s, prime office yields in both these saw slight softening pressures emerge over the last three months. Furthermore, the rate of yield compression in both Melbourne and Sydney also slowed.

In the absence of a material shift in the outlook for demand and growth in rents, macro factors influencing risk premiums are expected to play a key role in yields over the short to medium term including continued instability throughout certain regions of the world and risks to the global growth outlook.

Left: Sydney commercial district

COMMERCIAL SNAPSHOT

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9PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

By Claire Cupitt, Associate Director, Global Research and Consulting, CBRE

The residential supply pipeline in Australia continued to build momentum in 1H 2014, particularly in inner city unit markets. Developers remain positive about longer-term prospects following sustained high levels of buyer demand for new stock. Low interest rates are clearly a key input to investor-led demand for inner city units. These markets are also receiving strong interest from offshore investors that continue to be attracted by the perceived security of investment in Australia due to a stable political and financial environment. Building approvals remain in the midst of an upswing; however, the rate of growth is likely to diminish as population growth appears to have peaked which will cap future requirements.

Median values in residential markets have maintained consistent capital growth although residential price momentum is likely to slow to a more sustainable level, particularly in Sydney. A moderation of household income growth is the primary constraint to further elevated capital growth as this will reduce the ability of buyers to take on greater levels of debt. We expect that economic conditions will improve from late 2015 underpinned by housing construction, exports and improvements in non-mining business investment spending. This will provide an improvement to household incomes and better employment growth prospects.

Despite the strong levels of turnover in the unit market, prices remain far below houses and lower interest rates have improved affordability. Unit markets across Australia have recorded strong levels of turnover growth (19.4% over 12-months to Q2 2014), consistent with increasing levels of supply entering capital cities across Australia. Supply pipelines have been building in response to growth in demand from investors seeking to benefit from historically strong and stable rental markets. With median values for units in Q2 2014 $257,000 lower than houses in Sydney the trend towards unit accommodation is expected to continue.

In Sydney, residential price growth continued to outperform the national market over the past 12 months with capital growth in both house (15.4%) and unit (13.3%) sectors almost double respective Australian averages. With stock available for sale in Sydney not showing a sustained upward trend over the past 5 years, high levels of demand evidenced by increased sales volumes are facing a scarcity of stock. This is driving higher competition amongst buyers of residential property.

The Melbourne residential market continues to record strong turnover growth in both the house (22.7%) and unit (16.4%) markets over the 12 months to June 2014. Demand continues to come from both owner occupiers and investors, with low interest rates a key factor underpinning high turnover levels and price growth in Melbourne.

The inner city house market remains the market leading residential sector with inner city areas of Melbourne (within 5km of the CBD) recording strong price increases for houses. Location remains the key driver of price

growth, with proximity to public transport and resident amenity core demand drivers. The most significant house price growth has been in areas with lower-priced houses within close proximity to the CBD, such as Richmond, Albert Park and East Melbourne.

In Brisbane, developers continue to seek out acquisition opportunities as the unit market remains well supported by high levels of buyer demand. The unit market in particular has seen a sustained acceleration of development activity as new projects obtain pre-sales results that indicate substantial levels of confidence from buyers. There were instances, such as the CBD located Abian development (Sunland), of construction being brought forward following better than expected pre-sales results.

In contrast to the eastern states, Western Australia is facing softer business confidence with demand for residential property beginning to contract. As the resources sector slows and job numbers are reduced as a consequence of falling levels of business investment, buyers from both owner occupier and investor groups have been showing a greater degree of caution to activity in the property market. Indeed, over Q2 2014 house (-0.8%) and unit (-0.5%) markets in Perth recorded a reduction in capital values which contrasted the positive national residential results over the same period. The rental market also slowed as higher levels of supply entered the market in a period in which population growth eased. Vacancy rates have risen to above 4%.

Left: Sydney CBD

RESIDENTIAL SNAPSHOT

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INBOUND SINGAPORE INVESTMENT INTO AUSTRALIA

By Jonathan Yeo, Pitcher Partners, Sydney

Property investment has always been a main stay in Singapore’s economy. This is evident in Singapore’s stock exchange with exclusive property plays comprising approximately 20% of the exchange’s market capitalisation.

Recent property cooling measures in Singapore have resulted in property trusts being forced to look abroad to maintain their future profit outlook. At Pitcher Partners, we understand that Singaporeans view Australia as an attractive property investment market driven by a stable economy and well-regulated business environment. Australia is also familiar to Singaporeans with many having completed their tertiary studies in Australian universities.

The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board reported that Singapore was the fourth largest source of foreign funds invested into Australian property with over $2 billion spent in 2013.

This trend has continued over to 2014 where we have noticed a significant inflow of funds from Singaporean developers and investment trusts entering the Australian market. Notable Singapore transactions in Sydney include:

• Sofitel Wentworth Hotel, Sydney sold to the Frasers Property Group for $202.7 million

• 570 George Street, Sydney ear-marked for a residential conversion sold to the Far East Organisation for $151.8 million

• 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney sold to the Roxy Pacific Group for $90.2 million

It is important to note that the Australian property development landscape is very different to Singapore. Issues that Singaporean’s should consider when investing into Australia are:

• Appropriate structuring into Australia to ensure tax efficiency

• Federal, State and Local government jurisdiction

• Planning and development regulations

• Bank financing requirements and covenants

Pitcher Partners is one of Australia’s leading accounting and advisory firms to the property industry and in association with our Singaporean affiliate firm, Baker Tilly TFW, is delivering a series of events aimed at educating Singaporean property investors and developers on Australian property development.

Our experience with overseas developers has given us first-hand insight into the issues and pitfalls commonly faced by them including sub-optimal taxation and legal structures and acquiring sites without fully understanding the planning restrictions applicable to the site.

We have also observed locally that Australian property developers and consultants are engaging with Asia to proactively capitalise on the foreign investment flows. Australian property developers are actively pursuing joint ventures with Asian developers, private equity funds and private banks to maintain their development pipeline. There is also evidence that Australian property developers have been successful in unlocking increased liquidity from overseas private funders.

Our deep understanding of the Australian property landscape allows us to introduce the local expertise of Australian developers and consultants to overseas developers for mutual benefit.

On 31 July 2014, Pitcher Partners in conjunction with Baker Tilly TFW held the first of our Australian focused property seminars at the Fullerton Hotel, Singapore. Similar events have been held in Malaysia and China.

The event was well attended by a cross section of Singaporean property developers and Australian property consultants who were also on hand to offer advice. The attendees were briefed on issues such as property law in Australia, Australian tax and its interaction with the Singaporean Tax System together with an Australian property market update.

Our hands-on experience in Australian property and offshore transactions together with our proactive service approach will ensure that Singaporean developers avoid the common pitfalls and successfully execute their Australian developments. We also possess a strong network of contacts within the property industry to call upon experts from all disciplines to work with our clients as required.

Pitcher Partners is committed to assist Singaporean property developers through the full property development lifecycle and the next event in our series is planned for early 2015.

Left: 59 Goulburn Street, Sydney

11PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

By Andrew Clugston, Pitcher Partners, Melbourne

Listed development group, UEM Sunrise Bhd (“UEMS”), one of Malaysia’s leading property developers has marked their first venture in Australia with the acquisition of two development sites in Melbourne’s central business district. Acquiring sites at 224 La Trobe Street and 23 Mackenzie Street for a combined $65m, UEMS plans to join an ever increasing number of Malaysian development groups in delivering some of Australia’s largest residential towers.

Enticed by our sound political, legal and financial systems, and the fact we are home to 3 of the top 10 most liveable cities in the world, Australia was the next logical step in the group’s international expansions following successful ventures in Vancouver and Singapore.

224 La Trobe Street, home to the recently launched Aurora Melbourne Central development, will be one of Melbourne’s tallest residential buildings. Aurora Melbourne Central is an integrated mixed use development comprising of 941 residential apartments, 208 aerviced apartments/ hotel, commercial offices and retail. Aurora will be UEMS’s first project in Australia. 23 Mackenzie Street is set to follow Aurora, delivering almost 500 apartments over 37 levels.

Key lessons to be learned

Having gained experience from earlier overseas expansions, much can be learned by observing UEMS’s Australian ventures. Some of the key observations include:

Listen to the locals

UEMS identified from the outset the importance of local know-how. Avoiding the mistake many new entrants make, UEMS appointed an entirely local team of consultants, including local project managers, architects, engineers, etc. Having a highly experienced Australian team has ensured all major risks are anticipated and resolved before they become an issue.

Outsourcing has not been limited to just project management. The full Australian finance team has been outsourced to Pitcher Partners. Utilising our team of professionals with extensive Australian property experience, all monthly reporting and compliance requirements are outsourced to us. This leaves the UEMS team free to focus on their key objectives in the sound knowledge that the important finance function is taken care of.

Listen to your customers

Selecting a location for your next development can be largely driven by market demand. Expanding into a particular region, just because your competitors are, is not an adequate reason. Knowing what your customers want and finding the right property is paramount.

UEMS has clearly listened to the market in launching their first development, Aurora Melbourne Central. Sales have been achieved at a record breaking pace with 182 units of the 200 units snapped up within 3 days of the exclusive preview launch in Kuala Lumpur.

Know your location

The development team at UEMS spent a considerable amount of time observing the Australian market and reviewing properties before committing to their first acquisition. This involved several trips to Melbourne and Sydney as well as seeking the guidance of experienced valuers and consultants. Too often we see new entrants commit to a site without understanding the market and the key risks of a particular development.

As an experienced international developer, UEMS has been able to avoid many of the pitfalls suffered by new entrants to Australia thereby ensuring they enjoy a long and successful future here.

Above: Aurora Melbourne Central artists impression

INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY EXPANSION – A CLIENT CASE STUDY – UEM SUNRISE

12 PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIAN REAL ESTATE

By Brian Pass, Partner, DLA Piper Australia

Regulation of Foreign Investment

Foreign investment policy in Australia is regulated by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (FATA) and its related regulations which allow the Government to scrutinise proposed purchases by foreign persons in business and real estate transactions.

The FATA regime is administered by the Federal Treasurer and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), a non-statutory body that examines foreign investment proposals, advises the Treasurer on the compliance of proposals with foreign investment policy and assists foreign investors in complying with government policy.

Foreign Persons

A foreign person includes:

• Non-residents; and

• Corporations in which a non-resident or foreign corporation holds a controlling interest (15% or more);

A substantial foreign interest occurs when a single foreigner (and any associates) has 15% or more of the ownership or several foreigners (and any associates) have 40% or more in aggregate of the ownership of any corporation, business or trust.

General requirements for foreign investment

The Treasurer can prohibit foreign investment proposals and order divestiture or unwinding of foreign investment proposals or investment arrangements in Australian companies and businesses if they are considered to be contrary to national interest.

Investing in Australian Real Estate

Any contracts entered into by foreign persons to acquire real estate in Australia requiring FIRB approval should be made conditional on such approval and provide a minimum of 40 days for a decision from FIRB.

For such real estate purchased at auction, prior FIRB approval must be obtained.

Australian urban land

Australian urban land includes all land situated in Australia that is not used exclusively for carrying on a substantial business of primary production.

If a corporation or trust holds more than 50% of its assets in Australian urban land it is deemed to be an urban land corporation or trust. Notification to FIRB is required if the value of its (and its subsidiaries) total Australian urban land assets exceeds 50% of the value of its total assets, irrespective of the total value of the company, trust or the value of the proposal.

Proposed acquisitions of developed non-residential commercial real estate valued at AUD$54 million or more (or AUD$1,078 million for US/ New Zealand investors), or if the property is subject to heritage listing, AUD$5 million must be notified to FIRB and require approval.

Proposed acquisitions of real estate for commercial development are generally approved subject to development conditions under FATA.

Residential real estate

Any acquisition of residential real estate regardless of value requires notification to and approval by FIRB, unless an exemption applies such as acquisitions:

• by foreign nationals who hold a permanent visa; or

• of a new dwelling bought from a developer who has pre-approval to sell them to foreign persons).

Rural land

Australian rural land includes all land that is used wholly and exclusively for carrying on a business of primary production. A primary production business does not include hobby farms, ‘rural residential’ blocks or land used for mining.

Where the total assets to be acquired exceed AUD$248 million (or AUD$1,078 million for US/ New Zealand investors) notification to FIRB and approval is required.

Investment by foreign governments

All proposed investments by foreign governments and their agencies must be notified to FIRB.

FIRB Process

Applications must specify the particular property to be acquired as a general or in principle approval is not available.

FIRB aims to deal with applications within a 30 day period and approvals may be subject to adherence to certain conditions. Once granted, approvals stand for one year.

This article contains advice of a general nature only and should not be relied on without seeking advice on your particular circumstances.

Bringing the Right Team Together

Bringing the right team together is a critical element of a successful acquisition. On any acquisition, DLA Piper is able to work hand in hand with Pitcher Partners to ensure that the legal aspects of the transaction align with the transaction advisory, tax planning and structuring aspects.

In their respective fields, both DLA Piper and Pitcher Partners have market leading expertise in facilitating cross-border inbound investment into Australian property. Working in tandem, both organisations would add significant value to your acquisition advisory team.

This article contains advice of a general nature only and should not be relied on without seeking advice on your particular circumstances.

If you have any questions in relation to the application for and grant of FIRB approval and whether any exemptions will apply to your proposed investment, please contact us.

13PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

CHINESE INVESTORS CONTINUE TO PUSH INTO AUSTRALIA

By Andrew Beitz, Pitcher Partners Adelaide

There have been some big moves by Chinese investors looking to make their mark in the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide property markets. One of China’s largest property developers Sino Ocean Land are about to launch into construction of a 63-level, 633 unit high-rise ‘Eq Tower’ in Melbourne which will be their first venture outside the People’s Republic.

Sino Ocean Land is not the only company entering the Australian property market. A new Chinese entrant, Sichuan-based Xiang Xing Group, recently spent $35 million buying a development site in Melbourne’s prestigious Southbank, and Greenland Holding Group, based out of Shanghai, has $1.4 billion worth of projects on the go. China’s richest woman, Yang Huiyan, is heading up Country Gardens’ $500 million project in North Ryde, and Fuxing Huiyu Real Estate has released apartments worth $550 million in Parramatta.

In Adelaide the new $60 million ‘City Park’ project is a 12,000 square metre development and will be the largest privately owned commercial building in the Adelaide CBD.

Meanwhile Brisbane is not missing out on the action with Chinese investment nearly doubling in 2013-14 in the Brisbane City Council up from $96 million to $185 million.

It is evident that Chinese investors are increasing their Australian residential and commercial real estate investments. Although there has been negative press about this including foreign investment pushing up property prices and so on, this also creates many opportunities for Australian businesses to get on board.

At Pitcher Partners we pride ourselves on our cross border relationships. Our Advisory service is designed to assist companies across the globe with their market entry into Australia through investment, collaboration and trade. It also enables Australian businesses the opportunity to ‘partner’ with foreign investors i.e. real estate, builders, legal services, engineers and financial institutions.

With a specific focus on the Asia Pacific region, our services are tailored according to each client’s needs and can range from assessment of investment appetite, high level analysis of targets through to due diligence, negotiation of terms, contract completion, implementation and on-going support.

Most recently the team in Adelaide has collaborated with a prominent South Australian real estate group, law firm and bank to develop the appropriate structures for both Chinese and Malaysian investors in a major property development project. Having this structure in place from the beginning can save the clients thousands of dollars in fees and penalties down the track.

Chinese investment into Australia will continue to increase and Australian businesses need to find ways to use this to their advantage. The challenges for Australian businesses are how they leverage off this new source of capital in the future.

14 PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

IMPLICATIONS OF E-TAILING FOR WAREHOUSING IN AUSTRALIA

By James Condon and Chris Ireland, Savills

Online shopping in Australia

According to a study conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in February of this year, three out of four internet users now shop online. As at 2013 the overall market share of e-tailing was still only around 6%; however online sales are growing at a rate of 20-30% annually, and are expected to do so until 2020. In the 12 months to July 2014 Australian’s spent $15.6 billion on online retail sales, an increase of 8.6% on the year prior; e-tailing now accounts for 6.6% of traditional retail spending nationally.

In the past online shopping has been dominated by overseas retailers; though the weakening Australian dollar has increased the appeal of local retailers, with domestic spending now capturing nearly 75% of total online expenditure.

Implications of e-tailing for warehousing in Australia

Land/ rent/ lease cost is the most important factor to retailers when expanding into logistics operations. It is also imperative for the distribution centre to be located in close proximity to major transport networks to increase efficiency and decrease despatch time.

Distribution warehouses ideally need to be located with consideration given to:

• labour availability

• proximity to customer base

• proximity to parcel hubs

• proximity to suppliers

Warehousing requirements for e-tailers differs slightly from traditional distribution centres, with the differences detailed below.

Conventional distribution centres require a high building height to accommodate high bay racking; this is not the case for e-tailers as the focus is on the fast picking and despatch of a large volume of products, rather than on long-term storage amenities.

Office space element is unlikely to increase from current standards of roughly 5-10% of lettable area.

The high volume of picking and packing means shelving and racking needs to be at accessible heights; e-tailing racking requirements are in general single level, rather than high bays and ceilings.

In traditional warehousing a large portion of floor space is dedicated to bulk storage. In e-tailing operations the majority of space is required for packing and despatch, with a typical e-tailing distribution centre requiring a bulk storage area of less than one third of lettable area.

The decreased need for storage space and the necessity of getting products from suppliers to the customers as quickly as possibly is likely to see a rise in the number of cross-docking operations; where items are received through an inbound dock and transferred across the dock to the outbound transport, with minimal storage and handling in between.

A characteristic of online trading is a considerably higher return rate than conventional retailing; as a result these distribution centres need to have dedicated precincts to process these returns, and measures in place to reinstate them into inventory counts.

E-tailing distribution centres process a large amount of small products, some of which are high in value; centres will require increased security systems to maintain control at the employee, building and site levels.

Due to the high volume of picking and packing it is essential that e-tailing warehouses have accurate inventory and despatch data, with further care vital to guarantee the customer receives the proper item(s).

15PROPERTY OF PITCHER PARTNERS / DECEMBER 2014

Where to from here?

While warehousing requirements for e-tailing distribution centres may differ from traditional logistics companies, it is likely even newly constructed and purpose-built facilities will remain flexible to accommodate a wide range of logistics operations. Warehouses that can be utilised for cross-docking operations are likely to be received favourably by the market, and it is anticipated that we will see an increase in this capacity in new stock delivered to the market. What is clear is that demand for these facilities is increasing at a national level, and as such there is a market for the construction or conversion of warehouses to meet these requirements. This is likely to place upward pressure on rents as more of these facilities that are along major transport routes are snapped up by the e-tailing sector.

Adelaide Andrew Beitz Telephone +61 8 8179 2848 andrew.beitz@pitcher-sa.com.au

Melbourne John Brazzale Telephone +61 3 8610 5110 john.brazzale@pitcher.com.au

Brisbane Ross Walker Telephone +61 7 3222 8444 rwalker@pitcherpartners.com.au

Sydney Deborah Cartwright Telephone +61 2 9228 2240 dcartwright@pitcher-nsw.com.au

Newcastle Greg Farrow Telephone +61 2 4911 2000 greg.farrow@pitcher.com.au

The material contained in this publication is general commentary only for distribution to clients of Pitcher Partners. None of the material is, or should be regarded as advice. Accordingly, no person should rely on any of the contents of this publication without first obtaining specific advice from one of the Partners of Pitcher Partners. Pitcher Partners, its Principals and agents accept no responsibility to any person who acts or relies in any way on any of the material without first obtaining such specific advice. © Pitcher Partners 2014 PrintPost Approved PP381827/ 0043

Pitcher Partners is an association of independent firms. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Perth Leon Mok Telephone +61 8 9322 2022 mokl@pitcher-wa.com.au