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A SINGAPOREAN investor has swallowed a premium Melbourne dining precinct made famous by celebrity chef George Calombaris in a deal worth $8.61 million.
Keppel REIT Management has acquired the three retail properties, which are leased by the Master Chef Australia star and which house his high profile nosheries Gazi and The Press Club.
The strata-titles ground-floor properties, located at 2 Exhibition Street and 52 & 72 Flinders Street, have been sold with a long-term lease to Calombaris' flagship businesses under the Made Establishment banner.
It followed an expressions of interest campaign managed by commercial agency CBRE.
"This prime offering attracted vast interest, with several parties narrowly missing out on the opportunity behind Keppel, who was given first right to purchase due to its existing 50 per cent stake in 8 Exhibition Street," says CBRE's Josh Rutman.
The sale marks the largest strata retail transaction in Melbourne's CBD this year with the property garnering strong interest from both domestic and offshore parties.
The ground-floor retail properties are positioned at the foot of the historic Herald and Weekly Times building on the corner of Exhibition and Flinders Streets, and are surrounded by some of the CBD's landmark office towers and high profile hotels and luxury retail brands.
Gazi and the Press Club, a mainstay in The Age Good Food Guide, attract more than 170,000 patrons each year. The Press Club Projects business also operates from the premises, which provides private functions and is the "testing ground" for the flavours and menu that are produced at the neighbouring restaurants.
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