Sentinel Property Group, a Brisbane based company, has purchased Casuarina Square shopping centre off the GPT Group for $397 million.

With more than 190 stores and retailers, including Kmart, Big W, Woolworths and Coles, as well as a seven-screen Birch Carroll and Coyle Cinema, Casuarina Square was built in 1973 covering 5.5ha.

Casuarina Square was listed for $421 million at the end of June 2021, but the deal shows the market remains liquid even during the pandemic.

The deal was brokered by JLL’s Sam Hatcher, Nick Willis and Jacob Swan, who stated that this was the largest purchase for Warren Ebert’s Sentinel Property group since 2013.

“We are very long in Northern Australia, particularly in Darwin and North Queensland, with a portfolio approaching $750m,” chief executive officer Mr Ebert said.

“The Northern Territory has an enormous couple of decades ahead of it with planned investments in the region of approximately $43bn, including the $22bn Australian-ASEAN Power Link Project, the $4.7bn Santos Barossa Gas Field project and $8bn in government defence infrastructure.

Mr Ebert said he expects the shopping centre to be a billion dollar asset within the next decade.

This is the second shopping center the GPT has sold in as many months, after offloading Wollongong Central for $402 million in October last year.