Acting on behalf of the Future Fund, JLL has negotiated the sale of a 25% interest in Harbour Town Gold Coast, one of Australia’s best performing retail hybrid Outlet Centres. The 25% interest was purchased by the Lendlease managed Australian Prime Property Fund Retail, an existing co-owner.
Harbour Town Gold Coast is the largest Outlet Centre in Australia, comprising a total GLA of approximately 55,225m2, anchored by a Woolworths supermarket and a Reading Cinema, in addition to 14 mini-major tenants, 221 specialties and kiosks and a McDonald’s pad site.
With more than $440 million in total MAT, Harbour Town Gold Coast is the number 1 Outlet Centre in Australia in terms of highest MAT.
JLL’s Head of Retail Investment – Australasia, Simon Rooney who also negotiated the transaction on behalf of Future Fund said, “Assets which are performing well and have strong retail fundamentals are still achieving significant premiums and very strong pricing.
“There is a limited pool of quality Outlet Centres in Australia, so the opportunity to acquire a high-performing asset within this defensive sub-sector, like Harbour Town Gold Coast, is limited. The discount nature of the asset class means these centres can be counter cyclical. They can achieve resilient sales growth even when household discretionary spending capacity is under pressure.
“The Gold Coast has also benefitted from a strong rebound in tourism, with 7.8% p.a. growth in international visitor arrivals forecast for 2018 which is nearly four times the long-term average,” said Rooney.
The centre will open the new $28 million ‘Harbour Town Eats’ redevelopment on Friday 14 December, bringing an exciting new range of food and beverage retailers into a vibrant outdoor setting anchored by Readings cinemas in time for the busy Christmas trading period.
