Woolworths spin-off the listed Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group has purchased a Woolworths-anchored shopping centre south of Brisbane for $33 million from Brisbane Markets director Noel Greenhalgh.
SCA snapped up the 5690-square-metre Greenbank Shopping Centre from Mr Greenhalgh’s Pub Lane Investments on a tight yield of 6.61 per cent.
The centre is strategically located within the Greater Flagstone Priority Development Area south of Brisbane, which is projected to house more than 120,000 residents. Wealthy Sydney property owner Richard Scheinberg has a major share in the neighbouring 153-hectare land parcel backing on to the shopping centre.
The Greenbank transaction was unique, in that Mr Greenhalgh’s Pub Lane Investments provided SCA with a five-year delayed settlement on the 10ha site adjacent to the centre for future expansion.
Such a deal provides SCA with the time to plan the next stages of the retail precinct without holding costs, for up to five-years.
JLL’s Sam Hatcher and Jacob Swan negotiated the deal alongside CBRE’s Craig O’Donnell.
“Active Institutional investors within the neighbourhood-centre market continue to be attracted to the sector due to the attractive yields in comparison to subregional and regional sectors,” Mr Hatcher said.
“The volume of transactions is likely to remain elevated at above-trend levels in 2016 with various capital sources looking for acquisitions and the range of existing owners that remain motivated to dispose of assets and refine their portfolios.”
JLL’s Jacob Swan said that while values have been rising there was no cause for alarm.
“The yield range between premium and secondary assets in the neighbourhood-centre market is approximately in-line with the long-term average suggesting there is not a mispricing of risk within the market,” Mr Swan said.
We anticipate further disposals from corporates such as Woolworths and Coles and its parent Wesfarmers who have all been active developers of retail centres over the preceding period,” he said.