Pakington Strand sale offers Geelong retail investment opportunity

Geelong West’s Pakington Strand Shopping Centre is being offered to the market - marking the first Victorian neighbourhood shopping centre to be offered for sale in the new financial year.

Positioned on a 2,098 hectare land parcel, the neighbourhood shopping centre is anchored by a strong trading Woolworths supermarket, 14 specialty shops and two kiosks. 

Secured by a 28-year lease to Woolworths, the shopping centre offers a WALE of 14.8 years and a fully leased net income of $1,889,000 per annum. CBRE Victorian Retail Investments team of Justin Dowers and Mark Wizel are acting exclusively for Charter Hall, with the Expressions of Interest campaign launching this month.

Mr Dowers said given the limited opportunities to acquire neighbourhood shopping centres in 2016, the centre was expected to attract significant buyer interest from both local and offshore investors.

“In 2015 we saw yields for Victorian neighbourhood shopping centres sharpen substantially, with the sector attracting national buyer interest as a result of improved sentiment towards retail performance,” Mr Dowers said.

“Acknowledging the growth of government investment in the region, the Geelong catchment will continue to attract new jobs to the city, and in recent times a number of state and federal agencies have been established in central Geelong. These include the TAC, the National Disability Insurance Agency headquarters, the Australian Bureau of Statistics centre and WorkSafe”.

Pakington Strand features the only full line supermarket within the catchment and is prominently situated in the area’s main retail strip - Pakington Street. 

The 6,076sqm centre, in conjunction with the prime retail strip, forms a major shopping destination for the surrounding area. 

“Pakington Strand is located in Geelong West, the premier suburb of the City of Greater Geelong. The affluent suburb is rapidly becoming home to young and wealthy professionals - singles, couples and families alike - and many of these individuals are making the sea-change from Melbourne.  

Mr Dowers added: “This is expanding Geelong’s population and driving performance of assets like Pakington Strand.” 

Mr Wizel noted that Victoria’s neighbourhood retail sector was tightly held - a factor that was expected to underpin strong interest in the sale campaign.

“During the first half of 2016, we’ve seen the sector emerge on the radar of Asian investors seeking to acquire income producing assets as opposed to being primarily focused on inner city development sites,” Mr Wizel said. 

“We fielded significant enquiry from Asian investors for Victorian retail investment assets in 2016, as buyers become more educated on the security these asset provide when compared to other asset classes around the country or internationally.”