The “Best Bunnings Freehold Ever” headlines Burgess Rawson’s August portfolio

A 55,000 sqm Large Format Retail (LFR) centre anchored by one of Australia’s largest Bunnings Warehouse stores is headlining Burgess Rawson’s $350 million portfolio of commercial property auctions and expressions of interest campaigns in August.

The Hoppers Crossing centre in Melbourne’s Wyndham City growth corridor is being offered through an EOI campaign which closes on 11 August, one week after Burgess Rawson concludes its three-day national auction event on 4 August.

At 21,670 sqm, the Bunnings Warehouse is one of the network’s largest and is complemented on the site by Amart Furniture.

Amart recently renewed its lease, combining for a seven-year weighted average lease expiry (WALE) and total net annual income of more than $4.72 million, nearly three-quarters of which is paid by Bunnings Warehouse.

Burgess Rawson Partner Billy Holderhead said investor appetite in the Large Format Retail sector remains strong and is drawing considerable interest from the top end of the market.

“Given the scale of the Bunnings store, the quality of its location, forecast growth in the trade catchment, size of the landholding and its robust lease structure, we’ve backed the property as the best Bunnings freehold ever offered on the open market.”

The property enjoys a high-profile location on Old Geelong Road in what Deep End Services deem to be the largest concentration Large Format Retail floor space in Victoria.

Bunnings and Amart are supported in the immediate vicinity by Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and Barbeques Galore, all located within 500 metres.

Wyndham City was Australia’s fastest growing local government area (LGA) over the last two decades and various forecasts project more of the same.

“With swathes of undeveloped residential land in Wyndham City there’s still much more growth to come, and the Hoppers Crossing LFR precinct is strategically placed to benefit from this,” said Mr Holderhead.

Deep End Services Managing Director, Justin Ganly, said “ Large Format Retail tenants within Hoppers Crossing will be trading in an annual spending market which is expected to grow by 90% – or $1.17 billion – over the next 14 years.”

“2022 has been a standout for our team, particularly in the Large Format Retail sector in terms of new yield benchmarks, activity and quality of property we’ve brought to market,” said Mr Holderhead.

Burgess Rawson LFR freehold investment sales so far in 2022 include:

• Bunnings leaseback (Mount Isa, QLD) sold in May for $16,202,000 on a yield of 4.29%, smashing pre auction expectations of $14 million.
• Reece Plumbing (Colac, VIC), sold in May for $970,000, 35% over reserve, on a yield of 3.82%.
• The Good Guys (Invermay, TAS), sold in March for $11,000,000 translating to a 4.68% yield after being taken outside the auction rooms at Crown Casino after a pre-auction Dutch auction.
• Echuca Toyota (Echuca, VIC) sold in March for $6,100,000 at 4.55% despite a WALE of just 3 years.
• National Tiles leaseback portfolio of 3 stores (across Melbourne and Geelong) sold in February for $21,375,000, reflecting a blended yield of 3.98%.
• The Good Guys (Mildura, VIC) sold in February for $4,200,000 on a yield of 3.75%.
• Strata titled Officeworks (Mildura, VIC) sold in February for $2,885,000 on a yield of 4.73%.