New South Wales
CASULA – Circa $300 million
LaSalle Investment Management has bought into one of Australia’s biggest homemaker hubs, after AsheMorgan and Black Rock decided to part ways with Casula’s Crossroads Centre; a massive 52,000 sqm retail asset. The fully-occupied centre possesses leases to national brands like Bunnings Warehouse, Planet Fitness, Officeworks, Freedom, Fantastic Furniture and more, with the WALE of the property sitting at 5.1 years. JLL’s Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher worked in conjunction with Stonebridge Property Group’s Philip Gartland, Carl Molony, and Jonathon Fox.
SURRY HILLS - $120 million
8-24 Kippax Street in Sydney’s Surry Hills has a new, high-profile tenant, as the graphic design company Canva have snatched up the 1,037 sqm site for approximately $120 million. The vacant office building was previously known as the KMS building, and is comprised of 8,568 sqm of NLA over 10-storeys. The new acquisition comes close to home, as Canva’s current headquarters is at 110 Kippax Street, just a 250 metre walk away. Knight Frank’s Ben Schubert and Jonathon Vaughan were tasked with selling the property.
MERRYLANDS - $2.52 million
The Shalala family has sold an 879 sqm development site at 131 Excelsior Street to Educ8te Pty Ltd. Whilst the property currently contains two residential homes, the site was sold with approval for the construction of a 60-place childcare centre. Anthony Pirrottina, Demi Carigliano and Grant Bulpett of Knight Frank negotiated the sale on behalf of the vendor.
Victoria
SHEPPARTON - $88.1 million
Sim Lian – Metro Capital (SLMC) has purchased Benalla Road’s Shepparton Marketplace from Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, after off-market negotiations that were conducted by CBRE’s Simon Rooney and James Douglas. The 16,535 sqm is located in one of Victoria’s most populated regional townships, and has great tenancy upside, according to Mr. Rooney. “There is immediate potential to undertake a targeted remix of the centre’s speciality tenants and to enhance the casual dining offer, while the large 122,900 sqm site includes 61,700 sqm of vacant land, providing significant scope for future development opportunities.”
“The level of buyer interest in the Shepparton Marketplace process demonstrates the continued depth of demand for quality sub-regional shopping centre assets, particularly centres offering value-add opportunities,” continued Mr. Rooney. “The centre is situated in an expansive, densely populated trade area with a substantial retail expenditure pool, which is forecast to grow from $1.9 billion to $3 billion by 2036”.
DANDENONG SOUTH - $3.5 million
A local owner occupier looking to expand has secured 1,095 sqm of industrial space at 31-33 Cyber Loop in Dandenong South. Divested by a private investor, the stand-alone modern office/warehouse possesses high internal clearance and is securely fenced and gated in an area that is renown for its industrial land. Colliers' Sam Hibbins and Luke Lowden were responsible for managing the sale, and acknowledged how the short supply of industrial stock was leveraged to produce a favourable outcome for the vendor.
BRIGHTON - $4.45 million
Brighton has reaffirmed its blue-chip status, as a rare retail investment property auction on one of Australia’s premier shopping strips delivered a sensational result for vendors. Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Tom Fisher sold 51 Church Street under the hammer for $4.45 million on a sharp 3.2 per cent yield. The 227 sqm landholding is home to longstanding tenant Flight Centre, who have occupied the site for over 20 years and recently renewed their lease to December 2028.
Mr. Talbot believes that the sale is indicative of a return-to-form from the tourism industry. “The incoming purchaser was aware of the market conditions and was able to secure the property seeing the potential for serious repositioning opportunities,” stated Mr. Talbot. “Together with a lease term of six years, the asset was considered to be ‘risk-free’ by many in the market. This offered a secure, consistent cashflow from a quality global tenant at a time of share market and residential market volatility. We’re seeing investors continue to put their faith in bricks and mortar assets.”
ACT
GREENWAY - $46 million
After purchasing Homeworld Tuggeranong for $31 million back in 2014, Sentinel Property Group have sold the asset for a tidy $46 million, as the investment vehicle looks towards purchasing Lendlease’s Caneland Central in Queensland’s Mackay. The retail centre is comprised of 12,228 sqm in building area and 333 car parks, and has leases with six major groups and 25 specialities. Notable tenants currently occupying space in the facility include the Australian Government, ALDI, Dan Murphy’s, Petstock, and Supercheap Auto. The asset, located at 150-180 Soward Way, was marketed by JLL’s Sam Hatcher and Nick Willis, and was sold on a yield of 7.55 per cent.
Sentinel’s CEO, Warren Ebert, praised the fundamentals of the large-format retail centre, but admitted that the offer from the unnamed private investor was too good to pass up. “While Homeworld Tuggeranong has been an excellent asset and we have been able to add value to the centre, such as an upgrade of the ALDI supermarket, we received a good offer for the property,” Mr. Ebert explained.
Queensland
BRISBANE CBD - $39 million
Property investment group Quanta have secured the recently refurbished offices at 157 Ann Street for $39 million, subsequent to the occupancy of the building rising from 46.6% to over 90%. Purchased from Anton Real Estate Partners who originally acquired the asset in 2013, the 14-storey tower was recently given a $7.8 million facelift, which proved to be an impressive drawcard for tenants, with lift upgrades, a foyer upgrade, and on-floor works delivering high-quality accommodation and amenities. The deal was handled by CBRE’s Adelaide O’Brien and Jack Morrison, in conjunction with Colliers’ Jason Lynch.
According to Quanta CEO Stacey Jones, 157 Ann Street was a great fit with Quanta’s portfolio growth strategy. “We are really pleased to bring a commercial asset of this calibre to our investors, with immediate upside via new tenant leasing, offering compelling distributions, an increase from initial valuation, and a WALE of 6.6 years,” Jones said.
FITZROY - $48 million
Queensland’s Fitzroy region recently saw Australian-based agrifood business Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) acquire the 17,638-hectares that mark up the Jimarndy aggregation, purchasing it from the Simon family for $48 million. The deal concerns the adjoining properties of Jimarndy, Tawarri and Tandarra, that were divested as part of the Simon family’s succession planning. The sale was facilitated by CBRE’s David Goodfellow and Edward O’Dwyer, who presented the property alongside Nutrien Harcourts Rockhampton’s Phillip Wieland and Julian Laver.
MURARRIE - $13.65 million
A vacant freestanding building at 7 Smallwood Place has been sold to specialist investment manager Alceon for $13.65 million, who intend to reposition and refurbish the asset before undertaking a strategic re-leasing campaign. The site was sold by OzProp Capital, who were looking to recycle the capital out of the asset with the sitting tenant Michael Hill Jeweller relocating to their new purpose-built premises at Cannon Hill. Centrally located within the Metroplex on Gateway estate, Alceon have already experienced strong enquiry from the market in response to the sale.
“There is a lack of vacant buildings in the fringe market of this size, particularly with such a high car parking ratio,” explained Knight Frank’s Matt Barker, who facilitated the sale alongside colleague Blake Goddard. “The refurbished space is expected to become available for lease immediately and will be suitable for occupiers from early 2023 looking for a commercial headquarters, project space, technology and laboratory space, research and development or a government office.”
HENDRA - $8.125 million
After an on-market EOI campaign, a flagship investment opportunity in the affluent Brisbane suburb of Hendra has sold for $8.125 million. The recently constructed Hendra Medical & Wellness Centre opened its doors on the 1st of September 2022, and had already been fully leased. Colliers’ Harry Dever and Chris O’Driscoll managed the sale, and explained that the asset class was a primary determinant for the sale. “Investors were drawn to the Hendra Medical and Wellness Centre for the strong underlying land value, long term leases, and solid healthcare tenant covenants,” Mr. Dever said.
The Limbada Group secured the property after 300 enquiries that came from a mixture of private investors, syndicates and property funds looking to deploy capital into a secure investment. “The Healthcare property market has remained strong and resilient through the headwinds investors are currently facing through cost of debt, interest rate rises and inflation,” stated Mr. O’Driscoll. “The healthcare property market has proven to many investors that it is a defensive asset class and an essential service for a community.”
HEMMANT - $7.5 million
Hemmant industrial property remains highly coveted, as a 1,680 sqm site at 33 Canberra Street has sold for $7.5 million in an off-market transaction handled by Colliers’ James Wilkie. In part thanks to the extremely tight industrial vacancy rates evident all across the country, the freestanding asset was able to secure a low 3.42 per cent yield.
“The industrial market is currently under supplied for owner occupiers in TradeCoast and opportunities for owner occupiers to acquire property like this are rarely available,” stated Mr. Wilkie. “The incoming purchaser was aware of the market conditions and was able to secure the property seeing the potential for serious repositioning opportunities.”
