Sydney-based investors Kaipara Property Group, in conjunction with Argus Property Partners Group, has acquired the former Masters property in Wagga Wagga from HomeCo.
The acquisition by Argus Kaipara Fund 2 (a new fund established by Kaipara Property Group and Argus Property Partners Group) follows the acquisition of HomeCentre Bathurst by Argus Kaipara Fund 1.
Kaipara is an independent firm owned by the Joint Managing Directors, David Hopper and Toby Daniel. The group operates in all sectors nationally and invests in quality real estate alongside aligned investors and landowners to add value through development and dynamic asset management.
Joint Managing Director, Toby Daniel, said: “We really like the convergence of retail and industrial found in the large format retail sector. These assets provide retailers with a huge brand presence and the typically large floor areas provide excellent opportunities for omni-channel retailing. The sector has proven to be resilient through the pandemic and high-quality national tenants provide investors with a solid income profile. We have targeted this sector in 2021 due to a strong land bank value proposition with a lack of competing institutional capital regionally, combined with attractive rents and higher-income yields than other sectors.”
Joint Managing Director, David Hopper, added: “Wagga Wagga has a network gap for a number of national tenants in what is a very large regional catchment of about 200,000 people. This asset provides a wealth of convenient car parking for customers and we are excited about the growth prospects for Wagga Wagga with the Special Activation Precinct which is master-planned around the intermodal facility on the $15bn Inland Rail priority infrastructure project.”
The Wagga Wagga property comprises 4+ hectares of land with existing tenants including Spotlight, Anaconda, RTM and PETstock. Kaipara will add value to the property through leasing up of vacancies and partial redevelopment. Works are currently underway to open the largest Planet Fitness in Australia within the complex, which will cover more than 2,000m2 branded as the ‘judgement free zone’.
Kaipara has been successful this year in attracting new tenants to the Bathurst market including national retailers Jaycar and Cheap As Chips. The group are in discussions to bring more tenants into the centre and provide a wider offering to the Bathurst community. CBRE’s Shane Cook and Ethan Schofield are handling the leasing enquiries for HomeCentre Wagga Wagga and Bathurst.
During 2021, Kaipara completed a new ALDI development in Western Sydney, struck a deal for a greenfield Coles anchored centre in Victoria and a Woolworths anchored mixed-use tower with 600+ apartments in Western Sydney. Kaipara also received planning approval for a new Harris Farm in Dural this month and last week it celebrated the one year anniversary of the opening of the $80m Caddens Corner 5 Greenstar super-neighbourhood development.
