Property investment and development firm Mintus has secured Bathurst Chase for $17.5 million from Quanta Investment Funds, as well as its first Victorian acquisition, Cranbourne West Shopping Centre, for $41.8 million, purchased from Woolworths Group.
Cranbourne West Shopping Centre comprises a 100% fully leased neighbourhood shopping centre located 50 kilometres from Melbourne CBD. In addition to the new Woolworths supermarket, Jetts Fitness, Pharmacy and medical centre, there are 12 strong trading specialty tenants supporting the centre. The purchase also includes more than 11,000m2 of land to expand the centre.
Ben Stewart, Director – Retail and Residential at Mintus, said: “Mintus is thrilled to have secured Bathurst Chase and Cranbourne West Shopping Centre to our growing portfolio. Both centres represent Mintus’ ongoing retail strategy to add value and provide superior service, convenience, and offerings for the community. Shopping Centres are an evolving asset class that requires the owner to adapt and reinvest. At Mintus, we are very proactive and considerate in our approach.”
Woolworths Cranbourne West Shopping Centre
Colliers’ James Wilson, Tim McIntosh and Mike Crittenden, in conjunction with Stonebridge Property Group agents Justin Dowers and Kevin Tong, negotiated the sale of Cranbourne West Shopping Centre on behalf of Woolworths Group.
“Mintus, a Sydney-based investor, acquisition of Cranbourne West Shopping Centre is reflective of increased interstate and offshore purchaser activity for neighbourhood shopping centre transactions announced in early 2023,” said Wilson.
Dowers added: “Convenience centres in growth areas like Cranbourne West are well placed to benefit from the population boom we are experiencing in the capital cities.”
“The increases in construction costs are restricting the amount of retail development that is occurring in these growth areas, which will create a demand and supply imbalance and drive performance of the existing centres.”
Bathurst Chase is a neighbourhood shopping centre located in the affluent trade area in the NSW Central West. The centre offers excellent exposure on a high-profile 11,777m2 site in Bathurst CBD featuring a strong-performing Coles Supermarket – the only one in the region. In addition to Coles, Bathurst Chase is supported by a Liquorland and a mix of food and non-discretionary specialty stores.
Mintus secures Bathurst Chase for $17.5 million from Quanta Investment Funds, reflecting a passing yield of 7.36%
CBRE’s James Douglas, Joe Tynan and Michael Hedger, together with Stonebridge’s Alex James-Elliott, Justin Dowers and Philip Gartland, negotiated the sale of Bathurst Chase, following an on-market Expressions of Interest (EOI) process, which generated significant investor engagement.
Douglas said the opportunity had attracted significant investor enquiry, with more than 150 enquiries fielded from a variety of investor types, resulting in 16 bids when the EOI closed.
“The transaction demonstrates the resilient nature and continued demand for retail assets with a focus on non-discretionary spending. At Bathurst Chase there is also an immediate opportunity for the incoming owner to actively lease and manage the centre to enhance the asset’s income profile,” Douglas said.
Stonebridge’s James-Elliott added, “In the current changing market, the ability to secure a neighbourhood shopping centre with tangible competitive advantages over its competition and genuine value add opportunities proved to be highly attractive. Bathurst Chase also provides a strong value proposition factoring in high construction costs and the relative capital value of existing assets on a $/sqm basis.”
The wider Bathurst region generated $2.6b in regional product in FY22 across a vast industry profile, primarily focused on health care / medical, education, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism
The centre offers excellent exposure to the city’s main retail precinct along William Street and direct vehicular access from the Great Western Highway. The asset’s established customer base and extensive trade area of 43,850 residents is forecast to grow by 1.3% p.a. (almost double the NSW non-metro average) to reach 56,170 by 2041.
The trade area comprises an affluent population, with average per capita and household incomes 4% and 6% respectively above the non-metro NSW benchmarks. This drives significant retail spending of $671.8 million, with forecast growth of 3.7% p.a. to reach $1.34 billion by 2041, which will be a key driver of the turnover performance for the Coles supermarket and Liquorland.
Quanta Investment Funds’ CEO, Stacey Jones, said, “The sale of this asset at $17.5 million is a great outcome for our investors, having achieved a significant premium over our acquisition price of $15.5 million. Our disposal of the asset is in line with our trust strategy to recycle capital for value creation initiatives elsewhere in the portfolio and to reduce portfolio debt exposure.”
