Lend Lease Signs PwC, HSBC for A$6 Billion Waterside Development

Lend Lease Group, Australias biggest listed property developer, will start building the third office tower at its A$6 billion ($5.6 billion) Sydney harbor-front development after signing PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and HSBC Holdings Plc as tenants.

PwCs Australian unit agreed to occupy 26,500 square meters (285,243 square feet) over 12 floors in the 49-story building at Lend Leases Barangaroo project, and HSBCs local business has signed a pact to take 8,000 square meters, the Sydney-based company said in a regulatory filing. The developer also sold a 10 percent stake in the sites first two office towers to Netherlandss APG Algemene Pensioen Groep NV, reducing its own interest to A$300 million, or 15 percent, from A$500 million earlier, it said.

Lend Lease began work on the development in late 2011, creating a new financial hub in Australias most populous city. The agreement announced today will allow the company to begin construction on the last office building on the site, which it will fund entirely with existing capital sources, the company said today, without providing further details.

Prior to todays announcement, we were already ahead of where we expected to be at this stage of the evolution of the Barangaroo South precinct, Lend Lease Chief Executive Officer Steve McCann said in the statement. We are confident that International Towers Sydney will continue to attract quality tenants.

The company will add other investors at an appropriate time in the future, according to the statement.

Lend Lease shares were down 0.1 percent at A$12.825 at 10:52 a.m. in Sydney, paring gains this year to 15 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (AS51) index has advanced 2.4 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nichola Saminather in Sydney at nsaminather1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net Iain McDonald, Tomoko Yamazaki

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Lend Lease Signs PwC, HSBC for A$6 Billion Waterside Development