Coles, Pace sell supermarkets
Two supermarket backed investments have sold for a total of $52.45 million.
In the biggest deal, DeGroup is paying $33.3 million for Coles Woodend.
The operator was the vendor; it developed the 3780 square metre facility with 187 car parks in 2018 and offered it with a 10 year leaseback.
The sale price reflects a 4.3 per cent yield.
DeGroup said the asset, 59-61 High Street, about 70 kilometres north west of Melbourne, is “perfectly situated to benefit from the recent tree change shift and domestic tourism boom”.
“The supermarket is positioned on a prominent 1.1 hectare site adjacent to the Woodend train station, providing connectivity to the economic hubs of the Melbourne CBD and regional city of Bendigo,” it added.
“We also saw a major opportunity to take advantage of the current market dislocation in pricing between retail investment yields and bond rates, which we expect to continue for some time to come,” according to the buyer.
Three months ago, the group, headed by Colin De Lutis, paid Lendlease $136.5m for Caroline Springs’ CS Square – which is anchored by an Aldi, Coles and Woolworths.
In 2018, the investor acquired The Village Bacchus Marsh from Abacus Property Group – a $61.65m. outlay.
It has also owned Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre, in Point Cook, since 2005.
In the south east, the company controls Somerville Central (story continues below).
Pace sells Ascot Vale
Meanwhile, at inner-north west Ascot Vale, Pace Development Group this week sold a Woolworths Metro and three adjoining strata retail tenancies, for $19.15m.
The deal, with a China based investor, reflects a 4.63pc yield, the selling agents said.
With 2253 sqm of area and 76 car parks, the asset spreads over the ground and lower level of a 76-unit apartment complex just completed at 327-357 Mount Alexander Road.
Pace picked up the 3826 sqm site which has made way for the complex, formerly a garden centre and discount grocery store, for c$12m in 2017.
“This is the second supermarket our team has transacted to this investor, who only entered the retail market in 2017,” Stonebridge’s Kevin Tong, who marketed the Ascot Vale and Woodend properties with colleagues Justin Dowers and Rorey James, said.
“A strong driver for buyers’ interest was the current low interest rate environment in addition to the opportunity to capitalise on the 5.5pc stamp duty before the rise to 6.5pc on 1st July, 2021,” he added.
JLL’s Stuart Taylor, Tom Noonan and MingXuan Li were conjunctional agents for Ascot Vale.
Advise Transact, a consultancy firm established by ex-CBRE director Mark Wizel, also guided Pace.
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