Melbourne, Sydney investors on Queensland retail quest
Southern investor interest in the Queensland retail market is showing no signs of slowing as the new year approaches.
Melbourne-based syndicate Fawkner Property has secured two North Queensland retail centres in Townsville and Charters Towers in a combined deal worth $23.75 million.
Neighbourhood centres the Rising Sun Shopping Centre in Townsville and the Town Plaza Shopping Centre in Charters Towers were sold by MAB Funds Management Ltd in a deal understood to have been struck on a blended initial yield of about 7.5%.
The 9393sqm Rising Sun Shopping Centre at Mundingburra, 6km south west of the Townsville CBD, is anchored by a 2243sqm Coles supermarket and 11 specialty stores.
We are seeing a number of Melbourne and Sydney based private investors and syndicates actively seeking to grow their property portfolios along the eastern seaboard
The 7782sqm Town Plaza Shopping Centre is anchored by a recently refurbished 2579sqm Woolworths supermarket and nine specialty stores.
Savills national director of retail investments Peter Tyson says interest in the properties had been high, with multiple offers “received from private investors, syndicators and listed fund managers, both for the two assets separately and as a package”.
The Town Plaza Shopping Centre in Charters Towers sold in a combined deal with the Rising Sun Shopping Centre.
A southern investor also recently snapped up the Ormeau Town Centre, located between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, for $10.5 million.
CBRE senior negotiator, retail investments, Nick Willis says: “The sale reaffirms the increase in interstate investment and, in particular, the penetration of southern capital into Queensland’s retail investment market.
“We are seeing a number of Melbourne and Sydney based private investors and syndicates actively seeking to grow their property portfolios along the eastern seaboard, with a specific focus on South East Queensland.”
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The 1518sqm Ormeau Town Centre is a two-level retail centre tenanted by a range of food and beverage, medical and commercial tenants. Its sale transacted at a rate of about $6900 per square metre.
Local investors have, however, not missed out completely, with Coffee Club co-founding director Emmanuel Drivas understood to have acquired the Woolworths Moorooka Shopping Centre on Beaudesert Rd, Brisbane, for just over $27 million.
Brisbane-based entrepreneur Henry Yuen has bought the Focus @ Rothwell homemaker centre.
The deal for the property, with a gross lettable area of about 4890sqm, was achieved via an expressions of interest campaign managed by JLL. It realised a yield of about 6.6%.
Brisbane-based retail property entrepreneur Henry Yuen is also understood to have acquired a retail homemaker centre at Rothwell, north of Brisbane, for $30.68 million from Sentinel Property Group.
This represents a strong increase on the $25.75 million paid by Sentinel in December 2011 when it acquired the centre, branded as Focus @ Rothwell, which is set on a 39,530sqm site on Deception Bay Rd and has five standalone buildings with a total lettable area of 11,088sqm.
