Toowoomba’s Highfields Village nets $41m
Listed property trust Charter Hall Retail REIT has bought a Toowoomba shopping centre in a $41 million transaction, with plans to expand the property.
The Woolworths-anchored Highfields Village centre, bought at a capitalisation rate of 6%, reflects the trust’s ambitions to add value to local complexes through “active management”.
Fund manager Scott Dundas says the centre has exposure to a growing population base with further capacity to increase its income.
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“The acquisition reflects our strategy to acquire assets that are convenience-based, dominant within their trade area and provide a secure and growing income stream,” he says.
While the purchase was debt funded, Charter Hall Retail REIT plans to further divest some of its other assets to support new acquisitions of “value accretive development”.
The Highfields centre has gross lettable area of 6366sqm on a 3.9ha site.
Charter Hall says competition in the trade area is limited and the centre has expansion potential.
It recently acquired similar shopping centres in Salamander Bay, NSW, for $175 million, and Arana Hills Plaza in northern Brisbane for $67 million.
JLL ran an off-market sale process for Highfields’ private ownership group after introducing institutional and private investors.
JLL’s Sam Hatcher and Jacob Swann say the first two quarters have been exceptional for retail transactions across Australia and tip this will continue for the rest of the year.
– with Ben Wilmot
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
