Airport deals highlight demand for urban industrial real estate

Sydney’s airport land has been the focus of several investment and leasing deals as businesses leap on rare large-scale opportunities to locate close to major population hubs.

Waste management company Veolia signed a five-year lease with Sydney Airport in November for a 6,000 square metre paved hardstand, in the south-east sector of the Sydney Airport precinct at Mascot, which it will use for assembling and organising residential council bins. 

Veolia will pay a monthly rent of $140 per square metre, reflecting a premium of roughly 30% compared to similar sites on Sydney’s outskirts. This is despite restricted usage for the hardstand since it has not yet been concrete reinforced.

“A hardstand of this size in an infill location is really hard to come by because most owners will build on them for higher and better use, but in this case there are development restrictions,” says Murray Pettinger, a JLL director for South Sydney industrial at JLL, who helped broker the deal.

The hardstand contract follows the $22 million purchase of a 4.8 hectare parcel of leasehold land further west of Sydney, at Bankstown Airport, by a domestic private equity buyer from Toll Holdings.

The head lease is owned by Bankstown Airport owner Aeria Management Group (wholly owned by Australian superannuation fund Aware Super), with circa 25-years remaining.

It is understood the new owner plans to build warehousing of up to 15,000 sqm, plus hardstand to be used as a carpark or for storage.

“It is extremely rare that land of such scale comes up in a location like this,” Pettinger says. “A leasehold on airport-controlled land means there are limitations on what can be built, but the purchase price is well below the equivalent freehold market value and a great opportunity for the investor to capitalise on.”

He adds: “The challenge for the new owner will be grappling with high building costs to ensure development feasibility. They will need to achieve a premium rent, but JLL has proven on a nearby location this is doable.”

As an indication of the site’s potential rental income, a 9,603 sqm industrial building and adjoining office at nearby 125 Nancy Ellis Leebold Drive, was leased in October 2024 to campervan hire outfit THL for $271 net per sqm. The deal was brokered by JLL’s Adam Scimone and Tom Gibbeson. 

The warehouse was only recently purchased by Aeria from Australian investment manager ESR in July 2024 for $60 million

While neither the Sydney hardstand, nor the Bankstown land are expected to be used for airport-related operations, both provide tenants an opportunity to be located close to major residential areas and transport routes, which are key considerations for businesses. 

The 300 ha Bankstown Airport precinct is in the local government area of Canterbury-Bankstown, the largest LGA in south-western Sydney, which has a population growth forecast of 19% between 2021-2036.

The airport has easy access to the M5 motorway which also links to the M7 motorway, providing a strong connection to the Sydney population for logistics and distribution.

The Sydney airport precinct is only 8 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD and within a road network built to handle high volumes of traffic. 

Despite the successful airport deals, the outlook for Sydney’s industrial market remains mixed with flat retail trade and pressure on business margins expected to curb appetite for space, while new developments increase. Warehouse supply in Q3 2024 of 420,100 sqm reflects more than double the 10-year quarterly average, according to the JLL Sydney Industrial Market Dynamic report.

“We expect the rental gap between high quality and secondary warehouses to increase as tenants either capitalise on favourable terms and opt for super-prime, ESG-aligned facilities, or choose the cheapest available option amid challenging business conditions,” according to Lauren Graham, the report’s author.