US-based PGIM’s real estate investment group and Australia-based Assembly Funds Management (AFM) are acquiring retail asset Ed.Square Town Centre, in southwest Sydney for A$248 million ($221.3 million).

This is the second time in the past year that the two firms have joined hands to scoop up retail assets in Australia.

They have formed a partnership and operating platform to “pursue high-quality retail opportunities that offer a resilient income profile and growth potential”, applying a highly active asset management approach, PGIM and AFM said in a joint release on July 2.

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Ed.Square Town Centre is located in Edmondson Park, about 44km southwest of Sydney’s CBD. The property spans more than 24,500 sq m (263,716 sq ft) and is anchored by Coles supermarket, discount clothing and homewares retailer TK Maxx, and Event Cinemas.

It also houses nine mini-majors, or mid-sized retailers, and 78 specialty stores across retail, dining, entertainment and services.

The shopping centre forms the retail and entertainment heart of a broader mixed-use master-planned community next to the Edmondson Park transport interchange.

PGIM’s head of Australia, real estate, Steve Bulloch, said the centre has strong underlying fundamentals and is positioned to benefit from an increasing catchment over time.

AFM chief investment officer Tim Meurer noted: “With an attractive basis relative to replacement cost, we believe the asset offers compelling long-term potential for our investors.”

The seller, Frasers Property Australia, had developed Ed.Square Town Centre in 2021.

The sale is consistent with the developer’s capital recycling strategy to divest well-established assets “at the opportune time”, said Mark Gleeson, executive general manager of investment and capital transactions at Frasers Property Australia.

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Gleeson added that the company has recently acquired sites and continues to seek opportunities to develop new master-planned communities in its core eastern seaboard markets.

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