Bag snatcher sparks CBD foot chase before landmark auction

Auctioneer Raoul Salter and agent Andrew Prowse await bids at the auction of 170-172 Ryrie St, Geelong.

An opportunistic thief nearly gazumped the auction of one of the Geelong CBD’s longest-trading retail positions after swiping the real estate agents’ bag containing the contracts of sale.

The snatcher made off with the bag on Thursday before Darcy Jarman agent Andrew Prowse chased in hot pursuit along Ryrie St, losing him around McDonalds.

Mr Prowse explained the agents had momentarily placed their auction bag, which contained brochures, a calculator and the all-important contracts, behind a rack of suit jackets in the doorway at the Squire Shoppe and were chatting with the owners inside when the thief struck.

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He and colleague Tim Darcy stepped outside when they noticed the bag was missing and the thief took off when he realised he’d been made.

In the meantime, the agents had to send help back to the office to print new contracts so the auction could go ahead.

Mr Prowse said the bag was recovered in the female toilets at McDonalds, with only the calculator missing.

170-172 Ryrie St, Geelong, was offered for sale for the first time in more than 50 years.

A local investor later secured the property at 170-172 Ryrie St, Geelong in a $1.125m deal after auctioneer Raoul Salter had passed it in on a $1.1m vendor bid.

Mr Darcy said there were other interested parties who didn’t bid as they wanted to purchase with conditions.

“I think the south side of Ryrie St always invokes some interest because it profiles well to the north and has good access by the rear,” Mr Darcy said.

The auction bag was recovered in the female toilets at McDonald’s Geelong CBD store.

“It’s the third property we’ve sold in the past six to eight months in Ryrie St along that side. “They’ve all sold, so it gives some credence to the fact that the right article and the right location in that peripheral part of the city fringe area still can work.”

Mr Prowse said the buyers would look to reposition the building and seek a new major tenant once the property becomes vacant later this year.

But the character of the building, which has been home to the menswear retailer for more than 50 years, was a selling point.

170-172 Ryrie St, Geelong, was offered for sale for the first time in more than 50 years.

“They could see the character of the building and that it’s something you can’t replicate,” he said.

Mr Prowse said there was continued confidence in the CBD from commercial investors.

“From our end that’ll be the seventh sale we’ve had in the CBD over the past 12 months and all campaigns have received strong interest.

“The CBD is going through a transition stage, but there are plenty of willing buyers out there looking to grab hold of a piece, reposition them and generate some good income.

“Everything the council was done with the framework plan is given some confidence in the long-term growth in the land value.

“But as we see today, often the improvements are too good to pull down so they’re just going to be repositioned, generate some income and plan for another day.”