Waverley Gardens is a well-established 39,554m2 sub-regional shopping centre located in a strong population growth corridor of the Melbourne metropolitan area, 25 kilometres south-east of its CBD. The centre is anchored by strongly trading Woolworths, Coles and ALDI supermarkets, and two discount department stores. The centre is situated on a significant 106,000m2 site near the intersection of two major motorways (M1 and M3), with convenient parking for 2,000 cars. Major tenants account for 56% of total gross lettable area, providing excellent income security.
JLL’s Head of Retail Investments for Australasia, Simon Rooney has exclusively negotiated the sale of Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre in Melbourne for $178.0 million on behalf of Blackstone to a new funds management initiative of Elanor Investors Group.
The new Waverley Gardens fund is a joint venture in which Elanor will co-invest alongside global firm Heitman as well as domestic institutional and wholesale capital partners.
Waverley Gardens Aerial
Simon Rooney said, “We continue to see demand for retail assets where investors can progressively add value and drive enhanced returns, either via intensive asset management and/or development. Waverley Gardens offers an attractive and secure income return and provides future mixed-use development potential, given the extensive land parcel of 106,000m2.
Waverley Gardens, Vic
“Investors are attracted to the high population growth in Victoria which is currently running at 2.2% per annum, now the strongest nationally. The state provides sound investment fundamentals with the economy underpinned by broad-based growth driven by strong growth in household consumption, tourism, infrastructure spending and business investment.
“Opportunities to acquire sub-regional centres in 2017 were limited, with sub-regional transaction activity falling to $1.1 billion, less than half the $2.3 billion (per annum) which sold between 2013 and 2016 – reflecting the volume and scale of portfolio sales in prior years.
“We have seen $1.3 billion transact in the year to date inclusive of the recent sales of Warnbro Centre in WA, West End Plaza and Lavington Square in Albury, NSW and Belmont Village in VIC as part of the Vicinity Centres Portfolio for $631.0m, Burwood One, VIC to a private investor for $181.5m, Sturt Mall Wagga Wagga, NSW to SCA for $73.0m, Lidcombe Centre, NSW to a private investor for $135.0m, Gateway Plaza Leopold, VIC to Charter Hall for $117.0m, Grand Plaza Shopping Centre, Browns Plains, QLD (50%) to Invesco Real Estate for $215.0m, Brandon Park Shopping Centre, VIC to Newmark Capital for $135.0m.
“Sub-regional assets continue to appeal to yield-driven investors given the compression in yields in other retail sub-sectors and across other real estate sectors,” said Rooney.
