Build-to-rent operator expands into Sydney’s lower north shore with $290 million Chatswood complex
Capital Gain
Build-to-rent operator Novus, backed by M&G Real Estate, has extended its reach into the residential sector with the purchase of four freehold sites on Sydney’s lower north shore.
Through Colliers, the external fund manager has completed the amalgamation and sale of four commercial freeholds at 763-769 Pacific Highway, Chatswood.
The properties were sold on behalf of John Fletcher Properties to Novus, part of a landholding that was recently approved to take a $290 million, 27-storey, 198-unit complex which will be constructed as a Novus on Albert build-to-rent (BTR) complex.
No price was disclosed but similar sites have sold for up to $30 million.
The project follows another, Novus and Kanden’s new Novus on Spencer, which is a 190-unit complex with studio, one, two, three and four-bedroom BTR apartments over 19 levels.
Colliers Tom Appleby, advised on the deal and said the collective sale process began back in 2015.
New voco
Sydneysiders will have a few more places to sleep, play and eat with the opening of a number of new hotels and eateries.
IHG Hotels and Resorts has been active after opening the doors at its latest voco brand at developer ALAND’s $375 million Archibald precinct in Gosford on the central coast.
The 130-room property, which hosted the Matildas soccer team last week when they played at the nearby Polytec Stadium, has an array of bars and signature restaurants in an area that has become a favourite investment destination for pub barons Arthur Laundy and John Singleton among others.
ALAND’s founder Andrew Hrsto said at the opening that the Archibald Precinct, which comprises the hotel and 327 residential apartments, has been designed to “transform the heart of Gosford”.
The developer is undertaking another project nearby in Gosford and also recently launched the Walden project in North Sydney, a 30-storey tower. ALAND paid $240 million for the 3952-square-metre site at 11-17 Hampden Street and 173-179 Walker Street in June this year purchasing it from Cbus Property, Galileo Group and Abadeen.
IHG Hotels has also opened the first stage of its Intercontinental Coogee which includes the first Sydney-based restaurant by the UK chef Rick Steins.
The hotel sector is showing encouraging signs of recovery, with transaction volumes rising and occupancy rates strengthening across most major markets.
Ray White’s head of research Vanessa Rader said investment activity in hotels picked up through 2025, with total transaction volumes reaching $2.8 billion over the past four quarters, representing a 33 per cent increase on the previous year.
Rader said the sector has attracted renewed interest from both domestic institutions and offshore buyers, with cross-border capital accounting for 12 per cent of recent acquisitions, a figure still well below the levels of international investment the sector usually commands.
Accor hotels and the Malaysian-based YTL Hotel are also on the fast track to open hotels across the country.
The 100-room Accor-managed Mercure Sydney St Leonards on Sydney’s lower north shore is being refurbished. Guests will be able to pick from private courtyards, balconies or spa suites.
Adrian Williams, chief operating officer for Accor in the Pacific region, said major events and concerts have defined Sydney’s 2025 calendar and helped boost the pace of bookings across Australia 16 per cent higher year-on-year since the start of this year.
YTL Hotel and Resorts, which runs the Sydney Harbour Marriott has ear-marked Australia as a growth sector. Executive director Dato Mark Yeoh, said the group was looking for sites that would complement its growing portfolio.
The business recently opened the Hotel Indigo in Auckland and will launch the Moxy Niseko Village early next year.
Home HQ
Aware Real Estate and Barings have each acquired a 50 per cent stake in the large-format retail centre Home HQ Artarmon, for a total of $180.1 million from a fund managed by Growthpoint Properties Australia.
Located at 1 Frederick Street, Artarmon on Sydney’s lower north shore, Home HQ is a dominant, award-winning adaptive reuse retail centre.
Completed in 2010, the centre has 23,135 square metres of leasing space across three levels including a multilevel basement car park. ASX-listed Growthpoint added $9 million in capital renovations since 2018.
Sam McVay of McVay Real Estate and JLL’s Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher advised on the sale.
Season’s Greetings
This is the last Sydney Capital Gain column for the year. It will resume at the end of January 2026. We wish all our readers a safe and happy festive season.
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