15 Good Guys stores set to sell

One of Australia’s most anticipated retail portfolios is up for grabs, with 15 Good Guys stores on the market and generating investor interest both locally and overseas.

Commercial property agent Savills says the string of 15 properties, all leased to The Good Guys, represents one of the most anticipated sales in more than a year and could attract a buyer from Singapore, Malaysia or Hong Kong.

“Of the retail properties that have come to market in recent times, none have offered such a combination of geographical diversity, with exceptional land value and a blue-chip tenancy profile,” Savills CBD and metropolitan sales director Nick Peden says.

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Peden says the interest from across Asia comes as no surprise, given the region’s ongoing interest in prime Aussie retail assets. But he says there has been just as much interest domestically.

Fully leased, the properties generate a net annual income of more than $9 million, with rents ranging from $165,000 to $1.85 million per annum.

“The fact that 12 of the 15 stores are in Victoria and New South Wales where strong population growth is driving a very robust housing market, underpinning exceptional ongoing demand for household products, is something that will not be lost on astute investors,” Baxter says.

The Good Guys stores include one at Thomastown in Victoria.

The portfolio includes properties across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and WA and hits the market amid the strongest retail investment market in Australia’s history.

Investors have splurged a staggering $35 billion on more than 1000 retail assets over the last five years including a massive $9.38 billion in 2015 and $6.5 billion last year.

The Good Guys was founded in Melbourne’s northern suburbs in 1952, and remained a family owned business until late 2016 when the company was purchased by JB Hi-Fi Limited for $870 million. It is now the largest home appliance retailer in Australia with a 29% market share and annual revenue of $2.1 billion.

Baxter stopped short of putting a price on the portfolio but insiders have speculated it could be valued at about $130 million. He says the properties are for sale individually with prices expected to start at around $2.5 million.

The properties will be sold by expressions of interest, closing Wednesday, May 17.