KWM advises on $360m financing of Brisbane office complex

King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has advised commercial real estate investment firm MaxCap Group and superannuation and pension fund AustralianSuper on their financing of a new $360m office development complex in Brisbane.

The Midtown Centre in Brisbane’s CBD will combine two existing towers to develop 45,000 square metres of office space. In a statement, the firm said that the transaction is as a significant step for non-bank lenders who are filling the funding gap that has arisen in commercial real estate debt.

The KWM team was led by real estate finance partner Jonathan Oldham, with support from senior associate Andrew Barrett, solicitors Stuart Alexander and Danny Ke, and graduate Jeremy Tan.

“We are pleased to have advised MaxCap and AustralianSuper on this landmark deal,” said Oldham. “The substantial value of the debt is all the more significant given the parties were able to complete the deal in such a short timeframe. We are seeing significant appetite and more transactions than ever involving non-bank lenders providing debt funding solutions for commercial and residential real estate development. This is a significant change from traditional development funding which has historically been dominated by the big banks.”

Construction of the Midtown Centre is currently underway and is expected to be completed in mid-2021.