A company has snapped up one of Wagga's prime commercial developments for the hefty sum of $46 million.
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The Homebase on Hammond Ave was purchased by Metro Diversified Property Management according to media reports.
The East Wagga complex was co-owned by Darryl Kelly, former Wagga Rugby League president and current Gold Coast Titans part-owner.
The 20,000 square metre retail centre is home to Harvey Norman, Fantastic Furniture, Officeworks, Spotlight, Hungry Jacks and KFC.
The sale was brokered by JLL's Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher after it was listed for expressions of interest campaign late 2020.
"Given the robust performance of the asset and limited available supply of Large Format Retail centres in 2020, down 51 per cent on the three-year historic average, we experienced strong demand in the campaign from national private, syndicator and institutional investors," Mr Willis said.
At a sale price of $46 million, the Wagga Homebase Large Format Retail Centre sold at an approximate core market yield of seven per cent, $1 million more than the expected price.
Interest is growing in the market and Mr Willis said the momentum is carrying through to 2021.
"We are experiencing increased local and offshore investor demand for retail, with a key focus from core capital in the resilient sub-sectors of neighbourhood and convenience-based sub-regional shopping centres," he said.
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"Larger scale assets that provide value-add strategies including mixed-use are attracting more proactive capital that is identifying relative value in the sector."
Serena Hardwick, business manager at the Wagga Business Chamber, said the sale demonstrates the city continues to be a viable market.
"It shows a confidence that Wagga is a place where commercial property is still desirable," she said.
"There is confidence in the commercial sector here. When we talk about the impacts of COVID as well, it demonstrates that Wagga's economic outlook has been resilient and that it has been attractive to investors of all types."
Ms Hardwick said a sale like this does not usually impact the retail outlets at the site.
"The current tenancy out there is what brings to the confidence to the sale out there," she said.
The Australian Financial Review reported that the complex was bought by Metro Diversified Property Management, a company owned and directed by Garry Allan Carter.
It further reported that Carter was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court in 1995 to four years in prison with a minimum term of two years after pleading guilty to three counts of improperly using his position as a director of ATS Resources to gain an advantage for himself and companies associated with him.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission database shows that Metro Diversified Property was registered in April 2019.