Looking to diversify, John Holland has set it's sights on residential development and hotel investments thanks to a $1.1 billion budget funded by its new parent company, Chinese engineering and construction behemoth China Communications Construction Company International Holding.
John Holland, a name synonymous with engineering and construction in Australia, will establish a new development and investments group which will generate new business in property development, infrastructure public-private partnerships, and merger and acquisition opportunities, a John Holland spokeswoman confirmed to the Australian Financial Review. The new group will reportedly be lead by Tom Roche, John Holland's executive general manager in development and investments, and a former infrastructure executive at investment firm Babcock & Brown.
"John Holland continues to focus on its core business within the infrastructure, building and rail markets," she said.
"As part of our strategy for additional growth, we have established a new development and investments group. We are also looking at the further expansion of our business in international markets. Our new parent company, CCCI, continues to provide us with strong support in these endeavours."
CCCI's parent, the $32 billion China Communications Construction Company, is the largest listed company in the international infrastructure and engineering sector with 100,000 employees and a 165 ranking on the Fortune Global 500 in 2015. CCCI acquired John Holland from Leighton Holdings last year for $1.1 billion, making CCCI one of the biggest construction companies after Leighton and Lendlease.
The Australian Finanicial Review purported that:
John Holland and CCCI are said to be looking at prime Sydney sites, including the Sydney Fish Markets site which the NSW government's urban transformation division Urban Growth had earmarked as a future residential precinct , part of the Sydney Bays Precinct renewal in the inner west.
This could set John Holland up against another Chinese competitor for the site, property developer Shanghai-based Dahua, which had already scored two major land subdivisions in Sydney's south-west.
The company is also looking at prime sites in the Sydney central business district for development, with a preference to undertake residential development in partnership with local residential specialists, sources have said.
It is also eyeing Grocon's IMAX development site at Sydney's Darling Harbour, which is up for sale, sources have indicated.
Grocon is looking for office tenants for the complex while running a "concurrent" sale process on the high-profile site which has been slated to become an $800 million office and retail complex known as The Ribbon.
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