• Asset: 493–495 Abernethy Road, Kewdale WA, with frontage to Glassford Road and Hazelhurst Street
• Price: $16.8 million
• Structure: sale and leaseback to Symbion
• Site area: about 1.87 hectares
• Improvements: about 10,093 sqm of buildings
• Buyer: Harmony Property Investments, for the Harmony Industrial Property Fund 2
• Seller: Symbion, part of ASX-listed EBOS Group

Symbion has used the Kewdale site for pharmaceutical distribution for decades. It is the company's only distribution centre in Western Australia, so it is central to supplying pharmacies and healthcare providers across the state.

That matters to an investor. A tenant whose WA network depends on one facility has strong reasons to stay, and pharmaceutical distribution is a non-discretionary, defensive business that holds up through economic cycles.

Kewdale sits about 11 kilometres east of the Perth CBD in the city's established eastern industrial belt, close to Perth Airport, the Kewdale freight terminal and major arterial roads. It is one of the most sought-after logistics locations in Western Australia.

Three features stand out:

• Access: quick connections to the airport, freight rail and the main road network
• Central location: reach across the metropolitan area without the long trips of outer estates
• Scarcity: very little vacant land left, so existing sites hold their value

With multiple street frontages and close to two hectares of land, the Abernethy Road site has the kind of flexibility buyers look for when thinking about future use or redevelopment.

Harmony Property Investments is an Adelaide-based asset manager and the capital partner of MRS Property. It has been expanding beyond South Australia, and Perth has become a focus. Earlier this year it bought Carramar Village shopping centre and a Woolworths-anchored retail investment in a Peet estate in Perth's north for $32 million.

Harmony said the Kewdale property offers secure income, underlying land value and several longer-term exit options. That is a good summary of why mid-sized industrial leasebacks are so popular with private and syndicated funds: dependable rent now, with land as a safety net.

The Kewdale sale is one of many operator sale-and-leasebacks this year:

• Australia Post has taken two Sydney logistics hubs, at Alexandria and Minchinbury, to market with price expectations above $320 million, after selling assets in Queensland and Adelaide.
• Luv-a-Duck sold its Ballarat cold storage and processing plant for $21.25 million on a 12-year leaseback with 3.5 per cent fixed increases.

For operators, a leaseback frees up capital for growth, technology and efficiency without moving. For investors, it brings a committed tenant whose business depends on the site. Both sides gain, which is why the structure is so popular.

Perth's industrial market has been one of the tightest in the country over the past few years. Resources activity, population growth and the rise of e-commerce have all added demand, while serviced, well-located land has been slow to come forward. Established precincts like Kewdale, Welshpool and Forrestfield have felt that pressure most.

Those conditions support values for existing assets, especially well-located sites with long-standing tenants. They also push new development to outer estates, which makes inner eastern holdings even more valuable.

• Owner-occupiers have options. Operators with valuable land can unlock capital through a leaseback without moving.
• Location beats age. Older buildings on well-located land in established precincts remain highly saleable.
• Multiple frontages add flexibility. Sites with several street exposures appeal to buyers planning future uses.
• Market the land, not just the building. Aerials, site plans and concept visuals help buyers see long-term potential beyond today's improvements.

Watch whether more eastern-states funds follow Harmony into Perth industrial. Watch whether yields on mid-sized leasebacks hold as competition grows. And watch whether other healthcare and pharmaceutical operators sell their distribution assets to fund network upgrades.

• Real Estate Source – Symbion sells distribution centre with a leaseback
• Business News – Symbion divests $16.8m WA warehouse
• MHD Supply Chain – Australia Post puts two Sydney logistics properties on market
• Property Markets News – Ballarat cold storage $21.25m sale-and-leaseback