Goodman aims high with $100m of development
LISTED PROPERTY fund Goodman Property Trust (GMT) has more than $100 million worth of development projects on its drawing board this year, and has already signed about $50m of it.
John Dakin, chief executive of the trust’s manager, Goodman (NZ) Ltd, said the trust had signed about 45,000 sq m so far this year and was planning more buildings to take advantage of rising customer demand.
It would fund the work through asset sales, having already sold about $100m in the last two years, he said.
‘’We are currently working on a number of warehouse and office requirements [and] all these things take time to come to fruition.
‘’But we’re still seeing a good, robust level of demand, which is what you’d expect with an economy that’s getting along pretty well.’’
GMT has a large portfolio of mostly Auckland-based prime industrial and suburban office assets, including its Highbrook Business Park in East Tamaki.
At its recent annual meeting, Dakin talked about the ‘‘growing momentum’’ in the business and how it was moving to a ‘‘more active capital management strategy’’.
Developers view big land banks as a drag on earnings, and the current shortage of CBD office and industrial space in Auckland is creating a climate for new development.
Jeremy Simpson, a Forsyth Barr analyst, said the trust had successfully trimmed its land bank to 10 per cent of its portfolio and was now aiming for 5 per cent.
It was off to a good start, with the sale of its SMEC House property in Newmarket, Auckland for $26.2m, well above its $21.5m book value.
Simpson expected the trust would focus more on building out its industrial and office estates and was most likely to sell stand-alone