Church Street, Brighton, widely regarded as Melbourne’s - and Australia’s - most prized shopping strip, is set for its first auction of a prime retail investment since COVID-19.
Fitzroys’ Mark Talbot and Tom Fisher are marketing 13 Church Street, recently leased to international retailer Oroton.
The executors auction takes place on Thursday, 27 May at 1pm. The property was originally built by the owners some 60 years ago.
It is being offered with a long lease to Oroton Group, which has 49 stores across Australia and in Asia, returning $175,100 per annum plus outgoings and GST as of 1 July.
The new ultra-modern and immaculate open-plan fit-out features remarkable utilisation of window exposure and the property’s wide 7.9m frontage approx.
“This is genuine generational chance to secure a retail investment in the absolute prime of a blue-ribbon shopping strip,” Talbot said.
“Well-located bricks and mortar assets with secure leases have become more highly sought-after during the COVID period, and in the ultra-low interest rate environment that the Reserve Bank has flagged will remain for some time.
“The prime of Church Street, Brighton is among the most secure locations to invest in Melbourne retail and commercial property.”
Talbot noted there has been very few high-quality, well-located properties within Melbourne’s shopping strips offered for sale during the COVID period, and none in Church Street. He was responsible for the last auction sale on the strip, which saw the NAB branch at 35 Church Street sell in September 2019 for $6.105 million, at a sharp 3.5% yield.
Local and offshore enquiry is again expected during this campaign, with Australia’s safe- haven status having been enhanced during its relative success in handling COVID-19.
Talbot said astute land bankers would also note the 256sqm site’s long-term development potential and attractive site dimensions.
Fisher said Melbourne’s shopping strips have demonstrated their resilience over the past 12 months, and none more so than Church Street, Brighton.
“Church Street, Brighton consistently presents the strongest fundamentals for retail property investments, retaining its reputation as Melbourne’s best-performing suburban retail strip, and perhaps Australia’s.
“The strip has continued to perform strongly during the COVID period, given its tightly-held nature, excellent tenancy mix, constrained supply, and positioning within one of Melbourne’s most affluent and established consumer catchments. There remains a long queue of retailers and operators seeking space in Church Street.”
The property is positioned within the most highly sought-after and tightly-held section of Church Street, between Carpenter and St Andrews Streets. It is located opposite the famous Dendy cinema complex, and amongst other leading retailers including Scanlan & Theodore, Country Road, Husk, Sportscraft, Saba, Flanel, Seed, major banks, and local traders such as The Pantry.
Church Street is highly accessible, with excellent public car parking near that property within the Dendy Shopping Centre and Well Street car park, both within walking distance.
Fisher added that the immediate catchment has been bolstered with the introduction of medium-density residential developments in what is broadly a low-rise suburb, and the suburb is home to a number of highly sought after private schools.
