Charter Pacific Corporation, through its corporate advisory business Charter Pacific Capital, has acquired a 50% stake in the Priority Property Fund.

The Priority Property Fund comprises a $90 million portfolio of well positioned commercial and retail properties in Melbourne, Victoria, of which the Camberwell Shopping Centre is the fund’s principal retail property asset.

Nearing completion and due for occupation in April 2008, the Camberwell Shopping Centre development is a five storey retail and commercial shopping centre.

The centre, located at 4-14 Burke Avenue, is anchored by Coles and includes an additional 33 specialty stores.

The fund also owns a retail bulky goods centre on Tram Road in Doncaster, which is leased to Officeworks, Autobarn and Clark Rubber.

The property is situated adjacent to the Westfield Centre on Doncaster Road.

In addition to the Camberwell and Doncaster properties, there is a projected pipeline of future property investment opportunities for the fund over the next three to six months, ranging from established property assets to property development.

Charter Pacific managing director, Kevin Dart, said that the acquisition represented another significant step in the group’s financial services strategy.

“Earlier in 2007, we established Charter Pacific Capital to accelerate our revenue growth by capturing corporate advisory and funds management opportunities through our extensive network of corporate and business relationships," said Mr Dart.

“This acquisition is a key step in executing that strategy. It will bring to Charter Pacific new revenue streams through property development and funds management growth opportunities.”

The acquisition was overseen by Charter Pacific Capital's recently appointed executive chairman, Bruce McMenamin, who leads the Charter Pacific Capital team from the new Melbourne office.