Four Shell servos pumped onto Sydney market

A portfolio of four Shell service stations in Sydney are tipped to receive pumped-up interest from investors and developers.

The four stations, all leased to fuel giant Viva Energy and branded as Shell outlets, are being sold by South Australian Government-owned investment corporation Funds SA, at a time when petrol stations continue to be popular as long-term investments.

It’s a high-profile station at Waterloo in the city’s inner south that is expected to garner the most interest among the quartet, with its parkside location and prime position along the Eastern Distributor making it a major prize for future developers.

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The 3724sqm property at 867-877 South Dowling St sits opposite Moore Park, is zoned for mixed use and has a 10-year lease worth more than $520,000 annually, which commenced in 2017.

One of the Shell service station at Greenacre in Sydney.

Two service stations on opposite sides of Roberts road in Greenacre, 17km south-west of the city, and another at Narellan, 60km from the CBD, are also for sale as part of the portfolio.

Each of the stations has a convenience store sub-leased to Coles Express, while all are adjacent to either a McDonald’s or Hungry Jack’s.

JLL’s Nic Simarro, who is marketing the portfolio with colleague Harry Sullivan, says interest is likely to come thick and fast for all four properties.

“We’re expecting significant interest in all four service stations because of the set-and-forget nature of the leases, the high-exposure location and the underlying land value,” he says.

The Narellan service station.

But he expects the Waterloo station to be the most hotly contested, with overseas investors likely to figure among the potential buyers, due to its location less than 6km from the CBD.

“Waterloo’s rapidly changing demographics, population growth and high-density residential mix make it an already-vibrant area,” he says.

Sullivan adds: “Over the next 20 years, it will be transformed by a NSW Government urban renewal program as well as the Sydney Metro rail development, which includes the new Waterloo station due to open in 2024”.