Newcastle’s Marketown changes hands for $163m
AMP Capital has bought a shopping centre in Newcastle, north of Sydney, on behalf of Sunsuper for about $163 million.
The purchase of Marketown Shopping Centre, from developer David Boyer’s Cartier Group, was flagged in The Australian last month.
The 26,000sqm subregional centre is anchored by Coles, Woolworths, Big W, Officeworks and Dan Murphy’s, with 58 specialty stores.
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The deal comes amid concerns about the outlook for retail landlords, which are faced with sluggish wage growth and the rise in online shopping, especially with the imminent entry of US e-commerce giant Amazon.
CLSA head of local real estate Sholto Maconochie said recently the winners in the sector would be convenience formats and the highest quality centres, while subregional-style malls would probably come under more pressure.
AMP Capital head of separate accounts John Dynon says each shopping centre is different, depending on its offers, catchment and the ability of its manager to optimise performance.
He backs Marketown’s high level of non-discretionary and convenience spending, its location in a high-growth catchment and development potential.
Apartment blocks were completed last year on the site and it is near to a university.
Sunsuper now has at least eight quality commercial assets in its portfolio, with Marketown the first direct retail buy.
“It complements our existing portfolio, which includes the interest we acquired in Australian Technology Park, Sydney, in 2015,” Sunsuper private markets manager Michael Weaver says.
AMP Capital has taken over management of the centre from Knight Frank, with the centre management team recruited to become part of the AMP Capital team.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
