Investa

Over $350,000 raised for bushfire relief in Whittlesea

Melbourne 1 September 2009 - The auction of a house and land package on Saturday at the popular Mill Park Lakes Estate in South Morang has raised over $350,000 for the Victorian bushfire relief fund.

The Raising the Roof project was put together by Investa Property Group, which donated the 560m² block of land and sister company Clarendon Residential Group, which built the three-bedroom home. The project was supported by dozens of local and interstate contractors and suppliers who donated their time and materials to build the home. One hundred per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the bushfire relief fund to help rebuild the Whittlesea community.

The lucky owners are Miller Morrow and his wife Maree. Miller Morrow was initially interested in the property due to its close location to his daughter’s house, who also lives in South Morang. There was an added incentive in that total proceeds from the auction would be going towards rebuilding the Whittlesea community.

“We are very excited about moving into our new home but to also be able to give back to the community. Our family is based in South Morang so has seen directly the effects of the Black Saturday fires. It is great to be able to contribute to rebuilding the community and moving forward from this tragic event.“ said Mr Morrow.

Whittlesea Mayor Mary Lalios was at the auction, which was also a family fun day involving local CFA volunteers and community members with face painting and a sausage sizzle.

Katie Barton-Harvey from Investa Property Group said that everyone involved in the Raising the Roof project was extremely happy with the outcome.

“Investa and Clarendon are extremely pleased with the outcome of the auction and would like to thank everyone who generously donated their time and product to the house. We hope the Morrow family enjoy their new home and what it signifies.”

Funds raised from the auction will now be given to the Whittlesea based Bushfire Relief Committee to go toward a community project.

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Images from the auction and interviews with Miller Morrow or Katie Barton-Harvey are available on request.

For further information contact:
Investa Property Group
General Manager – Marketing, Katie Barton-Harvey
on 02 8226 9391 or 0427 234 862, kbarton-harvey@investa.com.au

Or

Clarendon Residential Group
General Manager – Marketing, Suzanne Monks
on 02 8850 9984 or 0407 263 898, smonks@clarendon.com.au

About the property:
Located in the Mill Park Lakes development in South Morang, the house is an architect-designed three-bedroom home that includes an open plan family and meals area, a galley style kitchen with Caesar Stone bench tops and stainless steel appliances, an alfresco outdoor entertaining area, private master bedroom with ensuite and his and hers twin vanity, in addition to built-in wardrobes, double garage and generous storage.

About Investa
Investa is one of Australia’s largest unlisted owners of commercial real estate. Headquartered in Sydney, with management and development offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Since its inception in 2000, Investa has grown to control real estate assets of approximately AU$9.5 billion. In September 2007, Investa was purchased by funds managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate (MSRE) and delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange.

Investa has proven experience in three key business areas:
•  Commercial Office Group
A fully integrated commercial real estate business. We buy, own, develop and manage high-quality office buildings in premier locations in Australia’s capitals. This end-to-end business model gives us an unrivalled capacity to ensure the quality and performance of our properties and our property services. Our Commercial Office Group has approximately AU$6.5 billion of assets under management.

•  Investa Funds Management
Investa manages a range of wholesale and retail funds on behalf of our clients, who range from institutions, superannuation funds, industry funds and retail investors. Funds under management exceed AU$2.1 billion.

•  Investa Land
We undertake commercial, industrial and residential development in select locations across Australia. Our residential land developments encompass broad-acre subdivisions in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia and we have a development pipeline in excess of AU$2 billion.

About Clarendon
Clarendon Residential is one of the largest contract home builders in Australia with over 1,000 dwellings under construction. Clarendon is known for providing quality driven housing for families. Clarendon is a consistent winner of HIA awards for innovative new home designs, HIA GreenSmart housing and OH&S practices.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, Clarendon was separated from Investa and now operates as a stand-alone company. The two companies will continue to work closely together on key projects.

About Mill Park Lakes
Mill Park Lakes is an Investa master planned community of over 2,000 homes developed around a lake and wetland system in Melbourne’s Plenty growth corridor. The project incorporates a retirement village, public and private schools, child care and a local shopping centre.