Victoria
ST KILDA – Circa $64 million
One of Australian's most renown commercial property families, the Cohens, have acquired the beloved Hotel Esplanade for approximately $64 million, four months after the Australian Venue Company acquired the leasehold for the property. Located just opposite the St Kilda shorefront, The Espy is a true entertainment repository with its multiple performance and function spaces, and as such, it generated a tight yield of 4.9%. Gorman Allard Shelton's Joseph Walton and Jonathon McCormack represented the vendor, Sand Hill Road, and expressed excitement over the positive result.
“Following an intensive international sales campaign, it is an amazing privilege to announce the sale of 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda - otherwise known as 'The Espy',” Mr. Walton stated. “It's fair to say, during the course of the campaign, The Hotel Esplanade truly captured the hearts and minds of the property market. Given its iconic status and strong investment fundamentals, it's easy to understand why.”
YARRA VALLEY – Undisclosed
One of the Yarra Valley’s most recognisable hospitality offerings has been purchased by leading tourism and leisure investment group Elanor Investors, thanks to a conjunctional campaign directed by HTL Property’s Andrew Jolliffe and Nic Simarro, and Burgess Rawson’s Zomart He. Chateau Yering was originally built in 1854 and contains 32 luxurious rooms, developed on a property with 250 acres of land.
“From our first inspection of the hotel, we saw immense potential in Chateau Yering,” Elanor Investors’ Marianne Ossovani commented. “[We] plan to elevate the experience for future guests in order to deliver a unique luxury experience in one of the world’s best wine regions.”
COBURG NORTH - $4.9 million
A major industrial facility has been offloaded in Coburg North for just shy of $5 million, thanks to a campaign orchestrated by Craig McKellar, Luca Angelico, and Ian Angelico of CVA Property Consultants. The 2,380 sqm site at 45 Gaffney Street contains a showroom/factory/warehouse with exposure to Gaffney, Cope, and Stock Street. Situated in close proximity to Sydney Road and Batman Railway Station, the property is well-centralised to capitalise on Coburg's continued growth.
“The sites’ prominent position attracted many interested parties, with the purchaser identifying the potential of more than 2000 sqm floor area in the inner northern suburbs, for its business occupation,” stated Mr. Ian Angelico. “They were attracted to the site’s future potential capital growth due to it being earmarked as being within a Transitional – Residential area under the Merri-bek city planning scheme.”
South Australia
HEALTHCARE PORTFOLIO - $220 million
Australian Unity’s Healthcare Property Trust has acquired the land and residential aged care buildings at nine sites in South Australia, purchasing the properties from residential aged care provider Bolton Clarke for $220 million. The assets will continue to be operated by Bolton Clarke under a 20-year leaseback arrangement. Eight of the properties are located in metropolitan Adelaide, with one located in Victor Harbor. Hall & Wilcox served as legal advisers for Australian Unity, while Bolton Clarke were advised by Minter Ellison and KPMG.
“In as little as five years, some 60,000-80,000 Australians will turn 80 every year. Given the strong macro-economic drivers, population shifts, and alignment with our existing portfolio, fit-for-purpose aged care properties present important opportunities for investors in AUHPT,” Australian Unity’s Chris Smith stated.
PORT AUGUSTA - $70 million
Centuria have consolidated their unlisted Centuria Agriculture Fund after purchasing one of South Australia’s largest glasshouse assets with Sundrop Farms, acquiring the property from the Morrison & Co Growth Infrastructure Fund. The site is a 246-hectare site that features four five-hectare glasshouses that produce 17,000 tonnes of truss tomatoes annually, as well as a 12.5-hectare solar plant that powers the glasshouses with renewable energy. The move takes Centuria’s agricultural portfolio to $421 million in assets under management.
“The beauty of these glasshouses is that they produce a crop throughout all seasons,” explained Centuria’s Head of Agriculture, Andrew Tout. “We like assets that manipulate their environment to – for example – enable a longer growing season.”
Queensland
BEENLEIGH - $85 million
The Dexus Wholesale Property Fund has parted ways with the popular Beenleigh Marketplace, a prominent large-format retail site, in a deal with property investment and development company Mintus, who have acquired the site for $85 million. The 20,252 sqm shopping centre is positioned atop a 60,680 sqm plot, and draws 2.6 million visitors a year.
The off-market transaction was handled by CBRE’s Simon Rooney, who believes the transaction is indicative of a wider interest in the sub-regional commercial property market. “The transaction demonstrates the continued demand for quality, metropolitan sub-regional assets with a focus on non-discretionary spending,” Mr. Rooney stated. “There is particularly strong interest in assets which offer strategic value-add opportunities.”
RED HILL - $15 million
Jaz Mooney has sold Brisbane’s Normanby Hotel to Ingham-Myers Hotels, after Mooney acquired the property in 2019. The hospitality offering was originally built in 1890, and occupies a 4,162 sqm site. It comes complete with 35 gaming machines, multiple bars, restaurants, a beer garden, and function space.
CBRE’s Paul Fraser brokered the sale via an Expressions of Interest campaign, and used the sale of the Normanby Hotel to highlight rising interest in the surrounding area from the rest of the market. “The opportunity to acquire an iconic, inner-Brisbane hotel with strong value-add and future redevelopment potential is scarce, and the interest and enquiry we had throughout the campaign process was evidence of this,” Mr. Fraser stated. “With the substantial $2.1 billion Brisbane Live development including an 18,000-seat stadium above the new Roma Street Cross River Rail Station, the area is set for a period of prolonged infrastructure stimulation and economic growth.”
New South Wales
BOX HILL – Circa $200 million
Expectations have been met after the McCall Community Gardens Foundation divested the 30.9-hectare site surrounding their historic Box Hill facility. National property developer WST Property Group were responsible for purchasing 10-32 Terry Road, as part of their continued interest in large-scale community developments. “This is an exciting opportunity for WST to develop quality dwellings for Sydney’s north-west, and to deliver our vision of quality for our customers via master-planned communities,” WST Property’s Krenalin Moodley stated. “The north-west is thriving, and we believe this project provides a wonderful opportunity for first-home buyers, and families looking to purchase their own homes.”
The land was sold by Knight Frank’s Grant Bulpett and Mark Litwin. “This is a significant sale in the current macroeconomic environment, demonstrating that there is buyer interest in larger residential sites, particularly in light of the fact that there is still a chronic housing undersupply in Sydney which will lead to stronger demand for homes in the future,” Mr. Litwin explained.
ORANGE - $6.3 million
A recently constructed Guzman y Gomez outlet has been sold in Orange's core commercial precinct, for an impressively tight yield of 3.81%, thanks to Burgess Rawson's Yosh Mendis. Mr. Mendis operated on behalf of Spectrum Retail Group, who originally purchased the asset as a former Audi car dealership, before constructing a new GYG with a 20-year lease attached. For Spectrum's Julian Ackad, the yield is a demonstration of the industry's wider demand. "We believe the yield at 3.81% is a marker transaction for our industry, especially given its regional location and higher price point relative to the majority of drive thru transactions,” Mr. Ackad stated.
Western Australia
KEWDALE - $16 million
An industrial development site in Perth's east has sold following a sales campaign that generated strong enquiry. The 27,920 sqm land parcel at 6 Ferguson Street in Kewdale was purchased by a private developer, and has 239 metres of street frontage to Kewdale Road and Ferguson Street. The marketing process was managed by Knight Frank's Tom Iredell and Geoff Thomson, who stated that the property was particularly popular amongst the developer and owner occupier groups.
"The property was attractive to a range of buyer types due to its clear development potential while providing holding income in the short to medium term,” Mr. Iredell explained. “The location of this well-exposed asset was also a huge drawcard, occupying a high exposure position in the heart of Kewdale within Perth’s core eastern logistics precinct.
