Luke Saraceni

CONTINGENCY plans to fill two floors of Saracen Properties’ $45 million Murray Street retail development, in the likely absence of collapsed retailer Harris Scarfe, are well under way and promise to introduce a host of new retailers to the

PROPERTY developer Luke Saraceni is in negotiations for the purchase a large tract of land at Vasse, including plans for a major town.

DEVELOPER Luke Saraceni says a building on the recently purchased Raine Square site will probably go no higher than eight to 10 storeys due to the size of the site.

Perth may be at the centre of a once-in-a-generation boom, but many feel we are not capitalising on it.

THE Margaret River wine region welcomed its newest microbrewery late last month with the opening of the $10 million Saracen Estate/Duckstein microbrewery.

WHEN Celebrate WA announced Western Australia's Citizen of Year awards for 2009 two weekends ago the presence of the University of Western Australia would not have escaped the attention of many.

Receivers for troubled office development Raine Square say project financiers gave the developer, Westgem Investments, ample opportunity to meet its debt obligations, but Westgem chief Luke Saraceni says Bankwest would not discuss refinancing options.

Property developer Luke Saraceni and his business partner Hossean Pourzand have struck a funding deal with IMF (Australia) to support their legal action over the Raine Square development.

A buyer has been found for Luke Saraceni’s New Esplanade Hotel, joint selling agents CBRE and Jones Lang La Salle say.The 67-room hotel was bought for an undisclosed sum and attracted significant interest, the agents said, including 15 “high calibre” offers.

Luke Saraceni’s Westgem Investments has been placed into liquidation, following a heated creditors meeting in Perth this morning in which leading insolvency experts argued over who should be appointed to the role of liquidator.

A HEATED creditors meeting in Perth last week shone a bright light on the tension between receivers and administrators of failed companies.

LEIGHTON Properties has stolen a march on rival developers, including Brookfield Properties, aiming to start work on Perth’s next large office buildings.

Embattled property developer Luke Saraceni’s battle with the corporate watchdog will move to the Supreme Court after his appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court was dismissed this morning.

Property firm Charter Hall Group has finalised negotiations to buy the Raine Square office and retail complex in central Perth for $458 million.

Investment Group Sirona Capital plans to expand its property footprint in Fremantle beyond the $300 million Kings Square redevelopment and position itself to benefit from the long-awaited commercial rejuvenation of the port city.

Accounting giant EY is understood to be close to finalising negotiations on a new lease at the six-storey EY Building on Mounts Bay Road, after coming up empty in its search for a new home.

Investment group Sirona Capital has expanded its footprint in Fremantle, launching plans to develop a $30 million Quest serviced apartment hotel in the port city's West End.

Diploma Group has lined up a $16 million contract to build Sirona Capital's proposed Quest serviced apartment development in Fremantle.

Perth's residential real estate market is undergoing a significant structural change, with apartment developers hoping to reap the rewards.

QUEST Serviced Apartments says five new projects in the Perth metropolitan area will cater for increasing demand from corporate travellers, while at the same time more than doubling the group’s room numbers in Western Australia.

Singapore development giant Fragrance Group has bought a CBD site from Luke Saraceni’s joint venture with Sirona Capital, Westbridge Property Group, for $40 million.

A buyer is understood to be circling the Port Geographe development near Busselton, potentially ending years of uncertainty for the blighted marina project.

Aquila Resources founder Tony Poli has emerged as a potential buyer for the Port Geographe development, in a move that could breathe new life into the long-stalled coastal project.

Our annual Apartment Developers feature discusses the oversupply debate of apartments in Perth's inner city, the government's proposed changes to strata titles, and the next wave of demand for apartment projects.

The residential component of the Kings Square precinct is to take shape in coming months, with Seven Group Holdings appointing architecture firm Woods Bagot to design two 50-storey apartment towers for the high-profile redevelopment project.

Singaporean investors are driving a flurry of offshore activity in Perth’s commercial, hotel and residential property sectors.

Construction works have begun on a $30 million, 14-storey hotel at the old Julio’s Restaurant site in West Perth, another around the corner on Walker Avenue has been approved to go ahead, while a vacant CBD site earmarked for a $47 million hotel has changed hands in a deal worth $17 million.

South Perth apartment tower proposals rivalling CBD heights are coming thick and fast through the approvals process.

Prominent developer Luke Saraceni says his development vehicle Saracen Properties is poised to unveil a wide range of new projects in coming months, on the heels of strong early sales success at its latest joint venture, a $25 million apartment building in North Perth.

Private equity group Sirona Capital and Luke Saraceni’s Saracen Properties are wrapping up their joint venture Westbridge Property Group, having not completed any projects in the three-year partnership.