Albert Park’s Mecca outlet roars past reserve

An Albert Park shop on one of Melbourne’s most tightly held strips has soared past its reserve at auction, more than half a century after the property last changed hands.

The shop at 125 Dundas Place, leased to cosmetics giant Mecca Cosmetica, sold for $3.855 million – $655,000 above its reserve price

The price represented a 2.7% yield after heavy bidding from five investors, with a local private investor winning out.

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Knight Frank’s Paul Pellegrino, who marketed the shop with Tim Grant and George Burbury, says it has seen a number of uses over the years after being bought by the previous owner about 55 years ago.

The Dundas Place retail strip is extremely tightly held.

“The father bought it back in the 1960s and he was a butcher,” Pellegrino says.

“It was a family-run business for many, many years.”

Mecca Cosmetica has occupied the 141sqm space since 2012 and has recently taken another five-year option, with a further five years available.

The property has been leased to Mecca Cosmetica since 2012.

It currently pays $107,687 in annual rent.

Pellegrino says investors were desperate to get a foothold in the Dundas Place strip of shops, with properties there notoriously tightly held.

“It’s just a very tightly held strip – there’s not a lot of turnover. The sale on the strip was about six years ago,” he says.