Cranebrook Village Shopping Centre has been sold to a private local investor for a record $48.1 million – $3.1 million above asking price.
The centre, anchored by Woolworths and Aldi, first went on the market in late August, highlighting investor interest in western Sydney.
Savills Australia’s Steven Lerche and Andrew Palmer brokered the deal in conjunction with CBRE’s Nick Willis and Justin Dowers on behalf of AusPacific Property Group after receiving 270 enquiries via an international expressions-of-interest campaign.
“The property attracted enquiries from a wide buyer pool, including local, interstate and offshore investors,” Mr Lerche said.
“We hadn’t seen a brand new, high-quality neighbourhood shopping centre formally offered to the market in Sydney for a long time and could only compare it to the likes of Coburg North Village in Melbourne, which sold for $38 million at a record yield of 4.98 per cent.
“The sale of Cranebrook Village represents a strong result in the current retail market but matches the result achieved for the sale of Thornleigh Village, another metropolitan Sydney neighbourhood that was sold by Charter Hall in June 2018 for $43.1 million.”
Mr Lerche said the buyer was attracted to the “absolute security” of the centre, with 70 per cent of its income stream underpinned by Woolworths and Aldi.
In addition to both Woolworths and Aldi, the centre features 13 specialty retailers including Terry White Chemist and First Care Medical Centre.
The sale of Cranebrook Village is one of only seven NSW neighbourhood shopping centres sold in the calendar year to October, compared to 21 sales in 2017.
“This indicates an acute shortage of this type of investment stock that has come to the market in NSW,” Mr Lerche said.
“The trend is reflected nationally to some extent, with declines in both NSW and Queensland partially offset by increases in Victoria and Western Australia.
“Neighbourhood shopping centres are in heavy demand from private investors across Australia, with Coles and Woolworths-anchored assets the preferred investment.”
Nicola Barton
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Nicola Barton is a news journalist with the Western Weekender, primarily covering crime and politics.