The first 100% interest in a major large format retail centre (LFR) in NSW this year is being offered to market, providing investors the opportunity to acquire a significant 28,770m2 landholding in Maitland, one of the state’s fastest growing regional area.
JLL’s David Mahood, Sebastian Fahey, Sam Hatcher and Nick Willis have been exclusively appointed to sell Home + Life Rutherford on behalf of TAMIM Asset Management via an Expressions-Of-Interest campaign.
With a gross lettable area spanning over 12,068m2, the centre boasts a fully leased tenancy profile. More than 98% of gross income is underpinned by national and chain retailers, Amart Furniture, Nick Scali, Anaconda and Lounge Plus Furniture.
Mahood said, “The large format retail sub-sector has seen a resurgence in investor appetite with over $260 million worth of centres having traded in the first half of 2024. The sub-sector remains to be tightly held, with all major transactions this year occurring off-market.”
Positioned at the core of Maitland’s Large Format Retail precinct on the New England Highway, Home + Life Rutherford benefits from strong cross-trade due to its proximity to other major retailers such as Spotlight and Harvey Norman.
© 2024 Mark Merton Photography
Offering an abundance of on-grade car bays and low site coverage of 42%, Home + Life Rutherford provides incoming purchasers a number of immediate development opportunities and long-term prospects, including freestanding pad sites (subject to council approval).
JLL’s Head of Research – Australia, Senior Director Andrew Quillfeldt said, “The Large Format Retail sub-sector’s positive outlook is underpinned by solid retailer performance driven by strong sales growth since 2020, a rationalisation of the number of retailers within various sub-segments and high barriers to new supply which supports the rental growth runway. Furthermore, LFR centres are benefitting from the above-trend international migration, which continues to support sales growth.”
“Home + Life Rutherford presents the first opportunity this year for investors to secure a major LFR centre on-market, and we expect the centre to receive strong interest from a broad range of capital pools.” added Mahood.
Maitland, part of the Hunter Region, is located 27 kilometres west of Newcastle and 170 km north of Sydney and is home to nearly 96,000 residents.
The Hunter Region is a powerhouse of economic activity, supporting 322,000 jobs and generates an annual gross regional product of $73.3 billion. With a diverse landscape that includes vineyards, natural resources, and fertile farmlands, the Hunter is strategically located near Sydney and the Port of Newcastle. Projections indicate that the region’s population will reach 862,000 by 2036, creating 61,500 new job opportunities.
Fahey said, “Maitland has seen a significant increase in population having maintained an attractive annual population growth rate of 3.14% since 2016, with over 2,500 of lots either proposed or approved in the following years.”
