Property sale funds university growth plans YET another Singaporean company has snapped up a prime Melbourne development site. Hotel Grand Central has bought a Flinders Street property for $48.5 million. The purchase of the title to Victoria University's city campus at 300 Flinders Street comes less than a week after compatriot Hiap Hoe paid $177m for two Melbourne properties, at 206 Bourke Street and 380 Lonsdale Street. Early last month Hiap Hoe bought another site in the Melbourne Docklands precinct for a price believed to be more than $25m. After Hotel Grand Central's purchase of Lot 3 at 300 Flinders Street, it will take ownership over the basement, most of the ground floor and levels nine to 19, in one of the largest strata ownership deals in Melbourne this year. Victoria University has agreed to a seven-year lease-back as part of the deal. Hotel Grand Central bought the property on an 8.3 per cent yield. The deal was negotiated by Savills agents Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden. "The sale of this property is a further demonstration of the exceptionally strong offshore buyer demand for high quality CBD investment assets," Mr Peden said. Hotel Grand Central already owns property in Australia, including the Courtyard by Marriott hotel at Surfers Paradise. The deal comes two years after the daughter of Queensland property magnate Kevin Seymour bought the car park component of the building for $28.2m from Victoria University. VU bought the property from mortgagees for $15.9m in 1993. It has plans for a larger city campus on Little Lonsdale Street.