Beaconsfield shopping hub sold as Melbourne emerges from COVID
Suburban shopping centres are powering through the other side of COVID-19, with investors continuing to compete hard for the in-demand asset class.
A retail complex with nine shops in Melbourne’s south-east has sold in the days before the most recent lifting of coronavirus restrictions, with enquiries to purchase the property pouring in throughout Stage 4 lockdowns.
The Beaconsfield Hub precinct at 52-62 Old Princes Highway is 90% tenanted to nine different tenants, including a nail and beauty salon, pilates studio, pool shop, fashion retailer, community bank and three hospitality venues.
The undisclosed sale price reflected a yield of just over 6%.
CBRE’s Rorey James, who marketed the property with Nic Hage, says suburban retailers had come into their own in 2020.
The sale of Beaconsfield Hub follows Coburg Hill Shopping Centre (6.3% yield), The Village Dandenong (5.88% yield) and City West Plasa (6.79% yield), all of which transacted this year.
The Beaconsfield Hub.
“With no major anchor tenant and a WALE of just over two-years, the result is an encouraging sign for the wider market,” James says.
“The depth of interest and price achieved highlights the confidence that investors have in commercial property, specifically retail, given six of the eight tenanted footprints were retail-specific in nature.”
Hage says more than 120 enquiries were received on the 4604sqm property, with the result achieved despite it not having a major anchor tenant and a short weighted average lease expiry.
“The process was effectively put on hold until clarity was provided in relation to commercial inspections and last Sunday’s announcement certainly brought urgency to a number of groups before being brought to a head with an unconditional position late Sunday evening,” he says.
“From the groups that reviewed the information, around 70% were passive investors looking for a favourable return on their money, this is a trend we anticipate continuing for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.”
