Primewest has snapped up the Northgate Geraldton Shopping Centre in Western Australia for $71.2 million, forming a new single-asset, unlisted wholesale property fund.
The Centuria Capital Group subsidiary secured the asset, which is the dominant shopping centre in the area, with 15,758sqm of GLA within the 336,845sqm site.
The centre is located at 110 Chapman Road in Geraldton, a major WA gateway town 400km north of Perth, boasting the fourth largest population in the state and supported by a diverse economy with active mining, broad-acre agriculture, wild and aquaculture fishing, tourism, and transport and logistics industries.
“This is a rare opportunity to secure a retail asset that’s strategically located within one of WA’s most populated areas. It benefits from strong tenant covenants with 80% of the property’s gross income derived from ASX-listed, national and multinational tenants,” said Bruce McCully, head of retail for Primewest.
The centre boasts Coles and Kmart as its anchor tenants, with the tenancies generating 49% of the gross rental income from the retail asset.
The asset provides a 4.7 year WALE, with Kmart having recently signed a new 10-year lease, while other tenants include 28 speciality shops, four kiosks, a Hungry Jacks, a Red Dot discount store and Concierge Car Wash pad sites.
“Northgate Shopping Centre is the dominant retail precinct within Greater Geraldton, servicing a catchment of c.51,000 people across a 385km area, which provides a strong competitive advantage. Adding to this is the centre providing the only Coles and Kmart outlets within the area,” said McCully.
The enclosed single level retail complex is accessible through four street frontages across Chapman Road, Bayly Street, George Road and View Street and includes 522 on-grade car parks.
“The acquisition adds to Primewest’s strong retail real estate portfolio, totalling more than $2.6billion across daily needs and large format centres. Primewest has been a significant investor in high-quality retail assets that provide compelling returns for our broad network of wholesale and retail investors,” added McCully.
The Northgate Geraldton Trust will be open to investors on 13 October, 2021 and will have an initial five-year term, with a forecasted 7.25% per annum distribution with the first two years and a target equity raise of $41.8 million.
Last month, Primewest acquired another shopping centre in the Perth-based Byford Village Shopping Centre and adjoining vacant site, for its pure-play daily needs retail trust, Matrix Trust.
The sale of the Geraldton Northgate Shopping Centre was managed by Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher from JLL.
Meanwhile, last month Centuria’s industrial portfolio across Australia and New Zealand reached more than of $5.1 billion in value, with assets in this market now making up approximately 30% of the group’s platform.
