Woolworths Holdings Limited (South Africa) has sold the David Jones Melbourne flagship property, located at 294-310 Bourke Street in the CBD, for $223.5 million.
The South African-based retail group held onto the asset as part of its sell-off of the David Jones business to Anchorage Capital Partners in late 2023. The business itself was sold for $100 million, notably less than what WHL had paid to acquire the business in 2014 - then $2.1 billion.
The Bourke Street property was held as an investment asset and leased back to David Jones on market-related terms. The property was sold in December 2024.
As a result of the sale of the property, WHL’s earnings per share ('EPS') for the period is expected to be between 18.0 per cent and 23 per cent (or between 239.4 cents and 249.6 cents), which is higher than the prior period reported EPS of 202.9 cents.
WHL confirmed the news in a trading update this week, which also covered Country Road Group performance. They did not disclose who had bought the property.