Fitzroy: Tea brand T2’s first premises and Blackout Restaurant both for sale on Brunswick St
In 1996, 340 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, became the first T2 store after the label was established by Jan O’Connor and Maryanne Shearer.
International tea brand T2’s first-ever outlet in Fitzroy is offering buyers a taste of Melbourne’s retail history, hitting the market with $1.7m price expectations.
In 1996, T2 co-founders Jan O’Connor and Maryanne Shearer established their first store at 340 Brunswick St after they each put $50,000 savings into the venture.
The property is still leased to the company, which expanded to 40 shops by 2013, when it was acquired by multinational company Unilever in a deal worth about $60m.
RELATED: Owners of popular Hamlyn Heights brunch spot list premises for sale
Car park in Melbourne’s CBD sells for $20m+, the biggest sale of the year
Former Carlton player Fraser Brown’s property group buys southeast golf course
Four years ago, Unilever sold T2 and other tea brands, grouped under an umbrella business named Ekaterra, to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $7bn.
T2 now has more than 70 stores across the globe.
The Brunswick St site’s owners of 47 years have put the shopfront on the market along with the neighbouring building, no. 342, which is leased to Blackout Restaurant, Bar & Lounge.
Commercial real estate agency Fitzroys’ Chris Kombi, Ervin Niyaz and Ben Liu are managing the sale.
Inside the T2 shop.
Together, the properties have a street frontage of more than 14m in length.
Mr Kombi said both the renovated double-storey buildings would be individually auctioned on June 13, with the restaurant premises expected to fetch $2m+.
Together, the two stores have a 363sq m landholding — T2 occupies 156 sq m.
“This is an opportunity to acquire a true piece of Melbourne’s retail history,” Mr Kombi said.
“This is the birthplace of a brand that has grown to become an iconic and beloved part of
Melbourne and Australia’s retail scene.”
Mr Kombi said the four families who have owned the buildings since 1976 had decided now was the right time to sell.
The buildings have both been renovated.
Murals inside the Blackout Restaurant, Bar & Lounge.
In the first week the properties have been on the market they have attracted interest mostly from local investors, he added.
There is approximately 12 months left on T2’s current lease, and more than three years on Blackout’s.
T2 returns $82,396 per year and Blackout $98,384 per year.
“The properties represent a generational opportunity to acquire a prime Brunswick St investment, located in the absolute heart of one of Melbourne’s most vibrant hospitality and lifestyle strips,” Mr Niyaz said.
In April, Fitzroys’ Walk The Strip report found Brunswick St’s retail and hospitality storefront vacancy rate was sitting at 4.6 per cent, its lowest point in years.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Australian Institute of Architecture, Houses Awards showcase Vic’s spectacular homes
Glen Iris: Knighted beer baron Peter Sinclair serves up renovated Federation-era house for sale
John McGrath rates his top real estate agents of 2024 to speak at AREC2024
