Argosy looks to sell $48.5m of Wellington Government department offices

Te Puni Kōkiri house at 143 Lambton Quay.

• Argosy plans to sell part of its $459.6 million Wellington office portfolio.
• Two properties on Lambton Quay will be sold “over the medium term” with one potentially being developed into a hotel.
• The sales are part of Argosy’s strategy to shift focus from Wellington offices to Auckland industrial sites.

A multi-billion-dollar property investment company is looking to sell part of its $459.6m Wellington office portfolio.

One Government department is on the move from its site as a result, but another is hoping to stay.

Real estate investor Argosy said in a recent NZX announcement it had identified seven properties as “non-core”, with a combined value of $147 million.

It includes Te Puni Kōkiri’s 6158.4sqm office at 143 Lambton Quay, which Argosy values at $7.5m.

At a recent investor meeting, an Argosy spokesperson said there was “a lot of gossip around what‘s happening” with Te Puni Kōkiri House.

“The reality is that it makes a really, really good hotel and our sale interest is nearly focused exclusively in that space,” the spokesperson said.

The corner building was constructed in 1940 for State Insurance.

Te Puni Kōkiri house at 143 Lambton Quay.

In response to the potential sale of the site, a spokesperson for the department said their lease expires in June, when it will move into the newly renovated Te Iho Bowen House building closer to Parliament.

“We are in regular contact with Argosy Property in relation to our lease and vacating the premises. Te Puni Kōkiri is unaware of Argosy Property’s future intentions for the building”, the spokesperson said.

The other building Argosy is selling is the TSB Bank Tower at 147 Lambton Quay, which currently houses offices for Parliamentary Service.

That building is valued by Argosy at $41m.

Lambton Quay in central Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Argosy said at the investor meeting it has “very strong” demand for the building.

“We’ve got currently possibly five, possibly even six inquiries that we’re working through.”

Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said in response the organisation “maintains a close relationship with our landlord and are aware of the possibility of a sale”.

“Our lease would move across to any new owner”, Gonzalez-Montero said.

Neither of the buildings have been listed yet, with Argosy saying they would be divested in the “medium term”.

Argosy CEO Peter Mence told the Herald the sales are part of a wider strategy from Argosy to divest from commercial office sites in the capital in favour of Auckland industrial sites.

“The sales are a strategy rather than a plan and there is no programme that needs to be achieved,” Mence said.

The company also owns New Zealand Post House at 7-27 Waterloo Quay, the Departmental Building which currently houses MBIE at 15-21 Stout Street, and its green star 8 Willis Street site housing Stats NZ, Worksafe, and the Ministry for the Environment.

Ethan Manera New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.