Finbar disposes of Gateway Building project

Finbar disposes of Gateway Building projectFinbar Group has sold the Gateway Building for $72.8 million in a sale that is expected to eventually deliver $20 million in cash for the apartment developer.The WA-based group announced that its subsidiary entered into an unconditional contract for the sale of the building located in Victoria Park, Perth, with settlement due in March this year.The purchaser of the office and retail building is an undisclosed Singaporean investor.In a media announcement Finbar stated: “[The] sale price is consistent with the current external valuation and carrying book value.”Following repayment of the building’s finance facility and minority joint venture interests, the developer is expected to realise $20 million in cash.”The board and management team are very pleased to realise the value of the building in cash so we may seek new opportunities to continue investing in our core business [of residential apartment development] and delivering value to our shareholders,” said Finbar’s managing director, Darren Pateman.”The sale of the Gateway Building represents a timely disposal opportunity where we can seek to deploy more funds into our core business which has a very robust pipeline of exciting and large-scale projects,” Pateman said.The Gateway Building, which Finbar completed in 2010, includes a mix of office and retail tenancy and is the headquarters for Australian engineering company Monadelphous Group.