Stirling Property Funds acquires Sydney Large Format Retail Centre for $55 million

Sydney based property fund manager Stirling Property Funds has acquired the McGraths Hills Home large format retail (LFR) retail centre for $55 million.

CBRE’s James Douglas exclusively managed the off-market sale, one of only a handful of recent LFR deals, with just seven centres sold within New South Wales in 2024, totaling nearly $300 million.

Stirling’s Head of Property Scott Girard said, “The acquisition of McGraths Hill Home was well supported by our clients, who continue to be attracted to investment opportunities within the LFR sector. The sector provides exceptional investment fundamentals with the ability to acquire quality assets such as McGraths Hill Home at prices well below replacement cost.”

Situated 51km from the Sydney CBD in the North West Growth Area, one of the city’s largest and fastest growing residential corridors, the centre is 100% leased, with secure lease tenure to major ASX-listed and national tenants, including Bunnings, Harvey Norman and BCF.

CBRE’s Mr Douglas noted, “LFR assets continue to be tightly held and rarely traded, with investors attracted to the strategic landholdings that these centres typically occupy and the potential for future development. They also offer transparent and reliable cashflows, with strong in-built rental growth and high expense recoveries, providing a sustainable base for income growth.”

McGraths Hill Home occupies a land-rich 3.78 ha site, situated on the highly trafficked Windsor Road within the McGraths Hill bulky goods and industrial precinct.

It draws on a burgeoning residential population, with a main trade area population of 169,229 that is forecast to grow by 4.6% per annum, well in excess of the Sydney average and tipped to reach 338,129 by 2041.

The total trade area comprises an affluent population, with average per capita and household incomes 7% and 22% respectively above the Australian benchmarks. This drives significant annual LFR spending of $499.2 million, with forecast growth of 5.9% per annum to reach $1.5 billion by 2041.