Qantas - Mascot landholdings

Qantas signed sale contracts for $802M with a consortium led by LOGOS Property Group for the sale of 13.8 hectares of its freehold land in Mascot adjoining Sydney Airport. MinterEllison advised Qantas on all GST aspects of the transaction, including structuring and drafting of transaction documents. We also assisted with assessing the competitive bids and negotiations with the successful proponent. We assisted Qantas to successfully implement strategies to eliminate risk and provide price certainty to both parties.

Australian Unity Funds Management Limited - Australian Unity Childcare Fund

MinterEllison advised Australian Unity Funds Management Limited on the establishment of the Australian Unity Childcare Fund and GST including income tax structuring advice, stamp duty advice on investment in the Fund and acquisitions by the Funds in several Australian jurisdictions, and successfully registering the Fund as a widely held unit trust for duty purposes. This matter is significant as the establishment of the Fund allows investors to directly invest in a diversified portfolio of childcare properties, comprising established childcare centres and properties for the development of childcare centres across Australia.

MP Capital Funds Management Limited - Merger Advice

MinterEllison advised AMP Capital Funds Management Limited on the stamp duty implications of the merging of the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund and the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund. The advice provided by MinterEllison included due diligence in relation to the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and detailed advice relating to the stamp duty implications of the merger in several Australian jurisdictions which encompassed the issue and redemption of units in both Funds, the change of responsible entity of the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund, and the drafting/negotiation of relevant merger documentation.

Landcom GST Dispute

MinterEllison is acting on behalf of Landcom in high profile tax litigation against the Commissioner of Taxation in respect of a GST dispute.
The matter concerns Landcom appealing a private ruling decision made by the Commissioner of Taxation to the Federal Court of Australia.
This is fundamentally a constitutional issue and the outcome of this decision has the potential to affect governmental entities and their abilities to obtain private rulings and/or initiate tax litigation against the Commonwealth in future.

Ernst & Young as liquidators within the 'Steller Property Group'

MinterEllison act for Stewart McCallum and Adam Nikitins of EY in their role as liquidators of a number of entities forming part of the Steller Property Group (Steller). Steller is a significant Australian property development group, and the liquidations involved significant work to recover and liquidate assets on behalf of Steller's creditors. The matter is particularly complex as the companies in liquidation were all trustees of separate trusts, which were removed as trustees of those trusts shortly prior to the appointment of the liquidators. MinterEllison's GST team have assisted the liquidators in navigating a series of complex GST issues that arose throughout the liquidations.