Our clients were successful business owners generating strong cash flow and seeking a way to put their profits to work outside the business. They had no commercial property experience, but they understood the fundamentals — they wanted a secure, income-producing asset in a high-growth location that would anchor a long-term investment portfolio. The brief was clear: secure something solid, well-tenanted, and positioned in a part of Brisbane where the underlying land value and demographic growth would do the heavy lifting over time. They weren't chasing speculative upside. They wanted a dependable yield from quality tenants in a market that was heading in the right direction.
We targeted Brisbane's inner northern corridor — a tightly held commercial strip with strong population growth, major infrastructure investment, and limited new supply. The area benefits from over 65,000 vehicles passing daily, proximity to the CBD, and direct access to the Clem 7 and Airport tunnels. For a yield-and-hold strategy, the location ticked every box: high exposure, strong tenant demand, and a residential catchment that continues to densify. We focused specifically on multi-tenanted professional services assets — law, medical, dental — where tenant quality is inherently high, lease terms are stable, and the fit-out investment tenants make in their space creates natural stickiness. A law firm doesn't move easily once they've built out boardrooms, reception, and open-plan offices for thirty staff. That kind of embedded commitment reduces vacancy risk significantly.
We identified an 866m² freestanding commercial building on a major arterial road in Brisbane's inner north. The property had been recently refurbished — new air-conditioning, roofing, and guttering on the main tenancy — and presented exceptionally well. It was dual-tenanted: the ground floor housed an established dental clinic on a six-year lease with two three-year options, and the upper level was occupied by a well-known law firm with around thirty staff on a six-year lease with a five-year option.
The law firm's lease was backed by a bank guarantee from a major Australian bank, providing an extra layer of financial security. Combined net income sat at $339,646 per annum across the two tenancies, with structured annual reviews — CPI on the dental tenancy and fixed 2% increases on the legal tenancy. The property also came with a full depreciation schedule showing over $66,000 in deductions in year one alone. We secured the acquisition at $5,000,000 through an Expressions of Interest campaign managed by a national agency.
Settlement completed and our clients now hold a $5 million freestanding commercial asset returning 6.79% net — well above what passive investments or residential property would deliver in the same market. The income is underpinned by two established professional tenants with a weighted average lease expiry of 3.27 years, structured rental increases, and a bank guarantee on the major tenancy. The property sits on a high-exposure corner site with dual street frontage, offering long-term development optionality as the corridor continues to densify. With over $1 million in depreciation benefits available over the first ten years, the after-tax return is even stronger. For first-time commercial investors, this is exactly the kind of acquisition that sets the tone for a portfolio — secure income, quality tenants, a growth location, and a building that effectively manages itself.
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