Brighton’s St Martin’s Cafe site blitzes reserve

St Martin’s Cafe in Brighton, Melbourne.
St Martin’s Cafe in Brighton, Melbourne.

An investor has picked off a prime piece of Melbourne real estate in upmarket Brighton, buying a space leased to popular St Martin’s Cafe for $2.377 million.

The sale price for the strata-titled shop, which sits on the ground floor of the 116 Martin Street residential development, soared 35% above reserve at auction as six local and international buyers went head to head.

A domestic bidder secured the property on a slim 4.01% yield.

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The cafe was the final asset to be sold in the building, developed by Citiplan, which was completed in 2016 and includes offices and a large residential component.

CBRE’s Rorey James, Mark Wizel, Nic Hage and JJ Heng steered the marketing campaign, with James and Wizel saying Brighton’s upmarket reputation in the residential market also weighed in its favour in the commercial space.

“The buyer saw value in the growth prospects afforded by the property’s location and was therefore comfortable with the price, despite the low initial return,” James says.

Wizel adds: “In what has been a reoccurring trend throughout 2019, the buyer of 116 Martin Street had previously invested in residential investments but was attracted to this asset given the longer-term lease and land tax protection afforded by the strata titled nature of the property.”