Panelbeater snaps up $450m shopping centre
Pub baron Sam Arnaout has just bought the St Ives Shopping Village for $450m. Picture: Justin Lloyd.
A one-time panel beater from Greenacre in Sydney’s west has just bought a major Sydney shopping centre, billed as “the biggest deal in history”.
Sam Arnaout, 50, the son of Lebanese refugees who bought his first property at the age of 17, is now a billionaire property developer and publican as the CEO of Iris Capital.
He’s inked a $450m deal to buy St Ives Shopping Village from EK Nominees, which has owned it for 39 years.
Colliers Managing Director Asia Pacific/Retail Capital Markets, Lachlan MacGillivray, said it was the largest super neighbourhood shopping centre sale in Australian history.
St Ives Shopping Village is a 17,475 sqm triple-supermarket anchored shopping centre and is home to Woolworths, Coles and Harris Farm Markets and is complemented by a further 105 tenancies.
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An aerial view of St Ives Shopping Village.
It’s home to Woolworths, Coles, Harris Farm and 105 other tenancies.
The centre has consistently outperformed industry benchmarks to rank first in performance in Shopping Centre News’ annual ranking of Mini Gun Shopping Centres.
Iris Capital’s CEO, Sam Arnaout says: “St Ives Shopping Village has long been identified by Iris Capital as the perfect entry point into the major Australian retail ownership landscape.
“The centre is highly coveted and has consistently been ranked number one across all of Australia in the Shopping Centre News Mini Guns rankings over the last 20 years due to its unique market positioning and outstanding tenant performance,” Mr Arnaout said.
“St Ives Shopping Village is well positioned to benefit from significant tailwinds benefiting the retail sector, specifically the undersupply of retail floorspace in the catchment, combined with critically needed future residential supply.
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It had previously been owned by a family for 39 years.
“We are delighted to purchase St Ives Village from EK Nominees, representing the foundation asset for our new retail management platform.”
Mr MacGillivray said the sale reinforced strong market demand for “irreplaceable retail assets”.
“This sale takes year to date retail transactions in excess of $3.4 billion, with further forecast interest rate cuts expected to give buyers added impetus to act quickly before pricing increases,” he added.
The St Ives Shopping Village deal continues the current momentum of landmark Australian retail deals including Westpoint Blacktown, NSW (c$900m), Macquarie Centre, NSW (830m), The Perron/GPT Retail partnership, WA ($482m) and Northland, VIC ($385m).
Mr Arnaout’s pubs include the Cabramatta Hotel, the El Cortez Hotel and the Hotel Steyne in Manly.
He also owns a range of hospitality businesses and apartment sites in Newcastle and the Gold Coast.
