No place like home: $300m Helensvale centre in play
Shayher Group is buying Homeworld Helensvale on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
An international party linked to Brisbane-headquartered Shayher Group is in due diligence to buy the Homeworld Helensvale complex on Queensland’s Gold Coast for close to $300m in one of the largest deals in the hot large format sector.
The move would be an entry to the market for the buyer and complement the group’s already rising portfolio of assets in the state which span retail centres, offices and development sites. While the buyer has not been disclosed, Shayher has the potential to develop out more elements of the Gold Coast centre.
The asset, being sold by the Les Ansley family, which engaged Macpro Properties to develop the property, dominates its area and comes with opportunities for expansion, including a residential component.
Colliers and Stonebridge are handling the asset but declined to comment as did the parties.
There is a long-term masterplan for the site in place that would allow the buyer to eventually double Homeworld’s size over the next five to eight years and cater for the booming northern Gold Coast. The plan also includes preliminary approval for about 425 residential units, up to ten levels.
The large format sector has drawn big players as it has held up during the crisis and was stoked by the house building boom as Australians buy up new goods.
The centre also drew interest from the listed BWP Trust and the state-backed QIC Global Real Estate. The sector was also supported through the coronavirus crisis as shoppers switched to more spacious centres and national chains flocked to large format properties.
Homeworld Helensvale opened in 2008 and has grown to be the largest mixed-use, large format centre on the Gold Coast. It sports about 78 tenants and attracted over 2 million cars over the past financial year.
A further three stages of development are planned, adding a further 20,000sq m of showroom, retail, medical and leisure tenancies including pilates centre and fashion and lifestyle brands. The masterplan for Homeworld, allows for more than 50,000sq m of mixed-use and large format tenancies.
The Hope Island-Helensvale area and surrounding suburbs continue to grow with a number of new housing developments planned including Villawoods’ The Surrounds and Lyra.
Homeworld Helensvale also had a medical hub added to it in 2019, adding to the appeal of the centre, which is situated on a 20ha Hope Island Rd site.
Shayher has been active and last year bought Brisbane’s Milton Green office park for close to $400m from the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund and superannuation fund Sunsuper.
An active developer and buyer with a multi-billion dollar Australian portfolio, Shayher established itself in Brisbane in 1999 and is connected to the giant Taiwanese apartment developer Par Jar Group. The party is believed to hail from that market but is yet to reveal their plans.
