Big result tipped for rare Brisbane Bunnings
A newly redeveloped Bunnings freehold in Lawnton, about 21 km north of Brisbane’s CBD, is shaping as one of the most keenly sought-after commercial property opportunities of 2019.
In a “critically low supply” environment for freestanding investments leased to top-tier tenants, the Bunnings-leased property is expected to bring out heavy hitters in the commercial investment market when the property goes under the hammer.
Bunnings commenced trading at the site in 2001 following its acquisition of Howard Smith/BBC Hardware. In September 2018, Bunnings closed the original store and commenced a complete rebuild with De Luca Construction. The new-look store opened to the public on June 3 this year.
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The redevelopment included a complete redesign of the facility, with a 41% increase in the gross lettable area, a 138% boost to the timber trade area, an additional 56 car spaces and improved customer safety thanks to a new, dedicated entry for all delivery trucks.
The Bunnings freehold investment will be auctioned as part of Burgess Rawson’s upcoming Investment Portfolio Auction on August 7.
It will mark just the third metropolitan Bunnings freehold investment opportunity below $20 million in the past three years. The most recent was at Glenorchy in Hobart, which Burgess Rawson sold for $14.06 million in December, setting a Bunnings yield record of 3.13%. The other, at Osborne Park in Perth, sold for $7.05 million at a Burgess Rawson auction in June 2016.
Bunnings Lawnton includes a brand new 10-year lease to the retailer, with eight additional six-year options on the 13,100sqm site and a position amid a booming local precinct with almost 30,000 homes within 5km.
Off the back of Burgess Rawson’s successful $14.55 million sale of the Kingaroy Bunnings freehold to a Victorian-based syndicate in June, agents expect strong competition in the $16 million range.
Burgess Rawson director Billy Holderhead, who is marketing the property with colleague Pat Kelly, says assets of such quality in metro locations are rare in today’s market and strong enquiries have already been coming in, primarily from private family offices and private syndicates from right across Australia and south-east Asia.
The Bunnings at Lawnton was completely redesigned and redeveloped.
“The redevelopment and presentation of the asset is a credit to the respective teams at Bunnings and De Luca Construction, and we’re proud to be bringing it to market,” Holderhead says.
“The property is bigger and better for customers– it’s hard to believe it’s the same site in what is a remarkable transformation. Adding 56 new at-grade car spaces, a significantly larger timber trade area offering and a dedicated ingress point for delivery trucks was a terrific outcome.”
Kelly says the strength of the Bunnings covenant is enriched further by the anticipated growth in the surrounding area.
“It’s a unique and strategic opportunity for investors to take a stake in Bunnings’ store network in Brisbane’s northern growth region,” he says.
Burgess Rawson’s 130th Investment Portfolio Auction is at Crown Casino’s River Room at 11am on Wednesday, August 7.
