Alan Bond’s grandson strikes WA retail deal as large format returns

Banjo Bond and Rob Thomas on site at their first development in Strathfield South in 2018.

The property development and investment firm co-founded by Alan Bond’s grandson, Banjo Bond, is buying a major large format retail centre in Perth, with the company setting up a trust to acquire HomeCo. Midland for $74.8m.

His operation, PWD, has primarily made its name with its development plays but is also undertaking funds management and is targeting properties where it believes it can add value.

The youthful Mr Bond has built up a track record in both areas, with projects in Sydney, and time at private developer Toga.

He is now focused on PWD’s acquisitions and deal structuring, building on his time at Toga, where he worked on residential and mixed-use developments across Sydney. Co-founding director Rob Thomas has more than 25 years in property in Australia and Britain.

In 2019, Mr Bond’s then new company, which includes his father, property figure John Bond, sitting on the board, undertook its first project in South Strathfield in Sydney. That $65m industrial complex was hit with heavy unit pre-sales.

At the time, he said that property had always interested him, and it was something he’d been exposed to from an early age.

“I’ve always admired both my dad and grandad, and going down a similar career path felt natural,” Mr Bond said.

The late Alan Bond initially made his money in property development. He was named Australian of the Year in 1978 and funded Australia’s 1983 America’s Cup win.

Alan Bond at his mansion in Cottesloe, Perth in 2014. Picture: Supplied

PWD has been active and last year teamed with Mathieson Property to develop healthcare facility project Camperdown Modern in Sydney’s inner west.

The Pyrmont Bridge Rd complex is directed at meeting the shortfall in health hospital services in the area.

The firm has now launched a trust to acquire the property in the growing Perth suburb of Midland. It is looking to raise $39.1m, and the trust for wealthy investors is targeting a distribution of 8 per cent.

The trust will hold the strongly-trading large format retail which was once part of the Aventus stable.

Alan Bond’s grandson Banjo Bond.

The listed HomeCo Daily Needs REIT merged with Aventus in a deal unveiled in 2021. The sale shows the strong demand for daily needs and convenience retail focused assets compared to traditional centres, and the fund has been successfully selling them since the merger.

JLL’s Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher brokered the deal but declined to comment, as did the buyer.

The centre spans 23,410sq m which is subdivided into 21 tenancies with the income underwritten by major, largely national tenants.

It has strong cashflows with a 3.4-year weighted average lease expiry and is 78 per cent leased to national tenants, including The Good Guys, Petbarn, JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Nick Scali and Baby Bunting.

The property sits on a prominent corner holding of 42,640sq m, giving it strong exposure for retailers, with good access to main roads, including the Great Eastern Highway and Roe Highway.

The centre will also benefit from development in the Midland large format retail precinct, with recent and ongoing investment into the surrounding area providing critical mass for retail customers and improved road access.

Midland is forecast to achieve strong population growth, driven by new residential subdivisions in Perth’s northeast suburbs.