Chinese buyer drops Buckets on Bentleigh childcare
Chinese investors are continuing to keep their hand in Australia’s commercial property market, with a Bentleigh childcare centre the latest to sell to an overseas-based buyer.
The investor paid $11.7 million for the facility at 188 Tucker Rd, which is leased to private operator Buckets Early Learning, in one of the biggest childcare centre sales seen nationally this year.
The sale came with a new 20-year lease to Buckets, along with two 10-year options, and was buoyed by the centre’s permit for 144 long day care places.
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The centre currently attracts a leasing income of almost $650,000, and has 1165sqm of building area and basement parking for 28 cars.
CBRE’s Sandro Peluso, Josh Twelftree and Jimmy Tat negotiated the sale after an international expressions of interest campaign.
Peluso says the lease to Buckets Early Learning was a major attraction for the buyer.
“With two other highly successful centres across Melbourne, the level of care the operator provides in addition to occupancy rates significantly above industry standards gave buyers confidence in the long-term security of this investment,”
Peluso says that despite reports of childcare struggling amid a glut, there is still an appetite among investors for well-located, well-leased offerings.
“While there may be ongoing concerns about a possible child care oversupply, we continue to see this having a minimal impact on the demand for premium assets, as highlighted by our transactions over the past 12 months.”
Last month a Nino Early Learning Centre with a rooftop playground in nearby Elsternwick sold for $11.3 million on a 5.97% yield – slightly higher than the sharp 5.53% yield for the Bentleigh property.
