The Investa Commercial Property Fund (ICPF) has entered a 50/50 joint venture with international financial services group Manulife to acquire an office building in Sydney from Macquarie for $800 million.

Investa and Manulife have acquired the right to a 100% interest in 39 Martin Place in the heart of the Sydney CBD.

The property will sit directly above the southern entrance of a new metro station that is under construction and will incorporate 30,000 square metres of office space across 28 levels and 2000 square metres of retail.

ICPF fund manager Brendan Looby said the acquisition is in line with the fund's strategy given the building quality, location and sustainability and technology features.

"We also have the opportunity to add value through leasing. This combination of factors is expected to deliver an attractive risk adjusted return to our investors, and further reinforces ICPF's reputation as Australia's leading prime office fund," he said.

"We have high confidence in the Sydney CBD office market and believe 39 Martin Place is well placed to attract a suite of high-quality users."

Looby said Investa has already received interest from several prospective tenants who are attracted to the location.

ICPF's partner, Manulife, is a multinational insurance company and financial services provider, which has been actively investing and pursuing opportunities in Australia since 2017.

Manulife senior managing director, head of Asia real estate investments Kenny Lam said he was excited to partner with ICPF.

"39 Martin Place will be a top-grade office building in Sydney, equipped with one of the highest levels of technology and situated in a prime CBD locale giving unparalleled access to a wide variety of public transport and facilities," Lam said.

"Despite some of the headwinds resulting from the pandemic, we are continuing to focus our expansion efforts on the Asia Pacific region and high-quality assets, which are supported by strong long-term macro and demographic prospects."

Investa's chief investment officer Peter Menegazzo said: "We are delighted to welcome Manulife as an investment partner alongside ICPF in this landmark development and look forward to partnering with Macquarie and Lendlease to deliver it.

"The investment provides another opportunity for Investa to demonstrate its deep leasing capability and reinforces our strong belief in the Martin Place precinct as a premium office location."

The building is being constructed by Lendlease and is due for completion in 2024.