Ex-Olympian buys $250m Noosa Civic shopping centre
Shopping centres are anything but dead if a $250 million purchase “Mean Machine” swimmer Mark Stockwell has just completed in the Queensland city of Noosa is anything to go by.
The former swimmer, who at 21 competed in the 1984 Olympics as part of Australian swimming’s “Mean Machine”, has just splashed out about $250 million to buy Noosa Civic shopping centre.
Stockwell, who raised a property fund to back the purchase, is a big believer in the area, saying his company wanted to “identify existing, well-located, quality retail assets that we can expand and unlock the development potential for our investors”.
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He should know, as his Brisbane-based company Stockwell was the original developer of Noosa Civic before selling it off to funds manager QIC in 2012 for about $200 million.
“We are pleased to be able to bring Noosa Civic back into our portfolio,” Stockwell says.
The deal showed a capitalisation rate of about 6% and was brokered by Lachlan MacGillivray and Stewart Gilchrist of Colliers International.
The centre sits on 31.73ha of land, 20.46ha of which is undeveloped, presenting the potential to further expand the complex.
Noosa is best known as a Queensland tourist destination but the complex also benefits from local trade with more than 90,000 residents nearby.
QIC Global Real Estate managing director Michael O’Brien said selling the centre was in line with the fund’s strategy, following its recent sale of the near $1.5 billion 80 Collins St in Melbourne.
He points to the deal as reaffirming shopping centres values, which have been under pressure this year as big landlords, including Stockland, have trimmed centre values.
“The sale was at book value. This is a pleasing result and is further demonstration of our ability to deliver successful transactions on behalf of investors,” he says.
The agents cited the improved economic conditions and retail market fundamentals as underpinning strong investor demand for local centres, especially those in good areas.
After a run of sales, including the Perron Group buying a half stake in Sydney’s Westfield Burwood and a Melbourne investor snapping up Norton Plaza, also in Sydney, MacGillivray says more wealthy buyers were backing retail property.
“We are increasingly seeing high conviction investors buying prime assets as demonstrated with recent sales of Noosa, Westfield Burwood and Norton Plaza who have all been sold to very experienced owners who have seen quality assets continue to perform strongly,” he says.
Investors tipped the retail property market would be expected to remain competitive as big institutions are now lining up to buy rarely traded shopping centres, particularly in Perth and Adelaide, after their values had been reset.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
