Norton Rose Fulbright advises GPT on management of $2.6 billion ACRT direct real estate mandate

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised The GPT Group on the transfer of the management of AMP Capital Retail Trust - now the Australian Core Retail Trust (ACRT), and the property management of one of its core assets, the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre.

GPT is a vertically integrated diversified property group that now actively manages a $33 billion portfolio of high quality Australian office, logistics and retail assets.

ACRT owns 100 per cent of the Pacific Fair shopping centre on the Gold Coast and 50 per cent of Sydney’s Macquarie Centre.

Norton Rose Fulbright Australia advised on all aspects of the transaction, including structuring, conducting due diligence, negotiating transaction and management appointment documents, the change of responsible entity, regulatory approvals and implementation.

The core Norton Rose Fulbright corporate team advising GPT was led by M&A Partner Jasmine Sprange and Funds Partner Jon Ireland, supported by Special Counsel Vanessa Ward, Senior Associate Stephen Lee, Associates Natalia Starostenko and Gabriel Bowes-Whitton, Graduate Ella Crowley-Burrows and Lawyer Melanie Lo. The broader corporate team also included Chris Robson, Stephen Etkind, Merren Taylor and Joyce Shi.

Partners Jasmine Sprange and Jon Ireland commented:

“We are delighted to assist GPT in this strategic transaction. Transferring management of the fund involved navigating a complex regulatory and compliance landscape in the context of an intricate pre-existing corporate structure. Norton Rose Fulbright’s integrated team was able to work together seamlessly to deliver a fantastic result for GPT on a tight timetable.”

The corporate team was also assisted by specialist Partners Vittorio Casamento, Michael McKee, Bryan Pointon, Ann Donohue, Claire Forster and their teams.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on a range of other prominent recent deals in Australia, including:

• advising Petspiration Group on sale of 55 per cent equity to Woolworths Group.
• advising Zurich and Cover-More Insurance on the sale of employee assistance provider Benestar.
• advising Australian Ethical on its superannuation fund merger with Christian Super.
• advising global consulting, construction, engineering and operating company Egis on its acquisition of sustainable engineering and consulting services business Calibre Professional Services.
• advising Colliers, a leading international diversified professional services and investment management company, on its acquisition of a controlling interest in engineering and urban design group PEAKURBAN.
• advising global high-tech engineering group Sandvik on its agreement to acquire Australian advanced optimisation software and services company, Polymathian Industrial Mathematics.
• advising Sandvik on its proposed acquisition of Deswik Group, a Brisbane-based software business that focuses on mining industry products.
• acting as legal advisors for Gaw Capital Partners on its majority investment in Maoneng Group’s portfolio of BESS and solar development projects across Australia.
• advised the leading green fuel developer InterContinental Energy on bp’s entry into the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (also known as the AREH project).
• advising Federation Asset Management on its investment in the Riverina and Darlington Point Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in New South Wales.
• advising in relation to bp’s entry into the Asian Renewable Energy Hub – the world’s largest renewables and green hydrogen energy hub planned for the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
• advising ENEOS on its Joint Venture with TotalEnergies to develop onsite B2B solar distributed generation across Asia.