The deal which includes the Marketplace retail complex and 97 specialty shops as well as the 219-room Radisson Plaza Hotel reflects an initial yield of 9%.

The property was bought by Huntercorp Pacific, a private investment group based in Sydney, who also acquired the Palms Shopping Centre in Coffs Harbour through Jones Lang LaSalle in February 2001.  The deal was completed jointly by Simon Rooney, Director of Retail Investments in Sydney, and Mike Batchelor, Executive Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in Brisbane.

“As one of Cairns’ prime real estate assets, the complex attracted significant investor interest from all over Australia and indeed overseas.  The bidding was hotly contested between major institutional and private investors” said Simon Rooney.

Private investors generally have the benefit of lower risk profiles, the ability to move quickly to secure deals, and are not accountable to the rigors of short term index weightings and results like the LPTs.

“Interest in the Cairns property market has been growing following the rebound in the local economy fuelled by its growing status as a conference and convention market, increasing sophistication of its service sector as well as the introduction of Australian Airlines” added Mr Rooney.

The hotel market in particular is showing signs of a recovery in performance.  “Both domestic and international visitors are coming to Cairns in increasing numbers, with air passenger numbers growing by 16.2% and 37.8% respectively during the month of October” said Mr Batchelor.

“This has aided hotel performance, with Cairns being one of few markets to grow hotel room rates last quarter in the face of softer demand.  The combination of traditional leisure demand with the push for high yielding conference business is smoothing demand patterns in the city’s hotels.  Cairns may also benefit from displaced demand from Bali, given the renewed travel warning before Christmas” added Mr Batchelor.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels provides clients with value-added investment opportunities and advice.  Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is a leading real estate services and investment management firm, operating across more than 100 key markets on five continents.