Rest expands property portfolio with Moorabbin Airport acquisition

Rest, one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds, is continuing to expand its exposure to Australian industrial and commercial property with the acquisition of a significant minority stake in Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport and its associated manufacturing, logistics, retail and aviation facilities.

Rest and a consortium of investors have settled on the acquisition of Moorabbin Airport, which comprises 294 hectares of diversified industrial, office, aviation and retail land use in Melbourne’s southeast. Rest has acquired a one-third stake.

Andrew Bambrook, Rest’s Head of Investments, Real Assets, says the airport’s diversified income, strategic location and long-term development potential means it’s well placed to support the fund’s focus on generating strong long-term returns for its more than 2 million members.

“The opportunity to acquire a suburban airport in a major Australian city is relatively rare. They are typically tightly held by investors for long periods, so we are pleased to acquire this stake in Moorabbin Airport on behalf of our members,” Mr Bambrook says.

“The airport is a strategic asset expected to generate strong, defensive income streams as part of Rest’s well diversified portfolio.

“The total landholding features a strong mix of tenants in manufacturing, logistics retail and business services, including Kingston Central Plaza, as well as the aviation precinct with its significant flight training and maintenance operations.

“The airport is ideally located in southeast Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s largest manufacturing workforce and is one of the tightest industrial markets in the country, with vacancy rates below long-term averages.

“It also features good access to key transport corridors, supporting both domestic and international connectivity.

“With these characteristics, we expect Moorabbin Airport to benefit from the global deglobalisation trend and continued onshoring and diversification of supply chains."

The Moorabbin Airport landholding includes more than 670,000 square metres of gross lettable area, anchored by five prime-grade industrial precincts that generate substantial rental income. Multiple development sites within the landholding are expected to deliver additional lettable area in the future.

Rest and its consortium partners, led by Barings, have acquired the property from Goodman Group. Barings has been appointed as the investment manager, property services manager and development manager.

Rest has partnered with Barings on a number of industrial property acquisitions since 2023, including Access Logistics Park in Sydney’s south west, a 12-asset premium industrial portfolio across Sydney and Melbourne and an initial seed investment in an industrial estate in Truganina in Melbourne’s west.