Goodman Property Trust selling 28% of $2.1b Highbrook, declares full-year result
Goodman Property Trust has sold 28% of its $2.1 billion Highbrook business park in Auckland and declared its full-year result.
CEO James Spence said the trust had created a new limited partnership fund to own the East Tāmaki property, of which it would retain 72%.
ASX-listed Goodman Group, headed by Greg Goodman and Australian-headquartered funds manager Mercer, would hold the rest.
It paid $580 million for 28% so the trust’s investor presentation referred to the deal enabling it to repay debt.
“The establishment of a funds management platform unlocks the ability for Goodman Property Trust to recycle capital into higher-return opportunities, while earning management fees,” the presentation said.
The trust declared $4.7b of assets in the year to March 31, 2025.
It pushed up net property income 13.5% to make $230.5m and made operating earnings after tax of $125m, up on the previous $121.4m.
Stable property values supported a better bottom-line result with a net profit after tax of $109.6m, a turnaround from 2024’s $564.9m loss.
Spence said: “We’ve achieved our leasing targets and delivered strong revenue and earnings growth, demonstrating the resilience of the portfolio in a more challenging economic environment.”
A slowing economy and more challenging operating outlook had eased capacity constraints and moderated customer demand, he said.
The new Highbrook fund was the first step in establishing a larger property funds management platform to help drive the trust’s growth, Spence said.
“The new partnership provides real momentum to our business, creating new revenue streams and releasing capital for reinvestment into higher yielding opportunities, including our own development pipeline,” he said.
Highbrook
- New Zealand’s biggest business park
- 18km from Auckland CBD
- Built on ex-Fisher family land
- Site was once Ra Ora horse stud
- Owned by Goodman Property Trust
- More than 130 businesses with 6000 staff
- 109ha site beside Tāmaki River
- Highbrook Crossing is hub of park
- Has dining, serviced apartments, childcare, gym
- $10m-$15m expansion due to be done by November
The trust has only a 1% vacancy in its 1.2 million sq m of urban logistics real estate, leased to 215 tenants which it calls customers.
Settlement of the Highbrook partnership and another property sale would enable the trust to repay all bank debt and result in cash on hand of around $450m, it said.
Highbrook is New Zealand’s largest business park. Steel & Tube, NZ Post, DHL, Ford, Panasonic, Cottonsoft, BMW, Schneider Electric and OfficeMax are just some of the 130-plus tenants.
DHL is the single largest occupier, with a 30,000sq m warehouse and 20,000sq m of enclosed canopy areas. That building is so large that it stretches an entire block.
Gearing would drop 11.7% to just 20.4% after the 28% Highbrook sale.
Cash earnings for 2026 are expected to be around 8.0 cents per unit, reflecting a similar increase to that achieved in FY25. Distributions are expected to be 6.8 cents per unit, a 5% increase on FY25.
Rent reviews and new leasing transactions have contributed to like-for-like rental growth of 7.3%, Spence said.
Although market rents are relatively stable, the potential rent reversion within the portfolio remains substantial at around 21%.
Despite the sluggish economy, the trust is still maintaining a big development pipeline.
Waitomokia in Māngere is expected to take 110,000sq m of new development, infrastructure and enabling works. Construction of the first building there is expected to start next year.
Work is also progressing with the $15.7m upgrade of the Highbrook Crossing, the business park’s commercial services and hospitality precinct.
Goodman is in the top 15 NZX-listed entities and has a market cap of around $3b.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.