The $82.5 million sale of Channel Court Shopping Centre represents the largest single asset retail sale in Tasmania ever recorded.
Channel Court, anchored by a full line Woolworths supermarket and Big W, is the largest and only sub-regional centre south of Hobart CBD.
Located in the growth corridor of Kingston, which has experienced an 11.8% total population growth between 2016 – 2021, the centre accommodates 84 speciality shops and is supported by local grocer Salamanca Fresh.
Comprising more than 25,000m2 in GLA, the centre generates over $150 million in Moving Annual Turnover (MAT).
The Channel Court transaction was exclusively brokered by Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher from JLL following a formal Expressions of Interest campaign.
Nick Willis, Senior Director JLL said: “The offering received broad interest, with seven formal bids received and reaffirms the continued market demand for dominant convenience-based sub-regional centres. We are continuing to see a shift in the weight of capital seeking these sub-regional assets both locally and offshore. The buyer profile continues to evolve attracted to the sectors fundamentals and value propositions. In the prior four years (2020 to 2024) an accumulative 77% of sub-regionals sold have been to syndicators and private investors, the prior four years to that (2019 to 2015) conversely 76% was to institutional owners.”
Channel Court is the only sub-regional centre south of Hobart CBD
The sale comes as transaction volumes in retail clock $1.8 billion as at June 30, in line with the prior year however 41% down on the 3 year historic average. The reduction in transaction volumes is being attributed to the limited availability of investment supply.
JLL’s Head of Retail Investments, Sam Hatcher said: “This year we have entered a phase of supply and investor demand imbalance in the sector, specifically in the sub-regional and large format retail sub-sectors where volumes are down approximately 13% as at 30 June, from the prior 12-months.
“As major institutions enter the tail-end of their disposal programs and the fundamentals of the sector continue to improve globally the sector is again receiving resounding positive engagement, driving renewed interest and competitive bidding. While the first half of the year has seen a significant reduction in available supply, we do anticipate increased supply offering in the second half of the year,” said Hatcher.
Channel Court is anchored by a full line Woolworths supermarket and Big W
Nathan Lin, Senior Analyst JLL Retail Investments said: “Channel Court presented a unique offering to the market, supported by macro-fundamentals, investors were further attracted to the relatively low average rents, some 43% below the benchmark. This combined with zero vacancy and occupancy costs of approximately 7% reinforced the long-term income growth trajectory of the asset.”
