A Christchurch city building occupied by law firm Saunders & Co and popular nightspots Mexicano’s and The Dirty Land, has been sold for $11,000,000 to a private investor through Jonathan Lyttle of Savills Real Estate.
Christchurch development site
JLL has sold a substantial Christchurch town house on a significant development site at 2 Bangor Street for $2,150,000.
The 3,736qm property is beside the Avon River and bordered by parkland and three street frontages, creating a rare island site. It was sold by JLL agent Chris Harding through a tender process.
The purchaser will look to develop the site in the longer term but in the short term the 450sqm house and outbuildings will likely be rented out as holiday accommodation.
2 Bangor Street is zoned Central City Residential. Medium to high density is prescribed throughout the zone, with a maximum building height of 11 metres.
Christchurch city building
A Christchurch city building occupied by law firm Saunders & Co and popular nightspots Mexicano’s and The Dirty Land, has been sold for $11,000,000 to a private investor through Jonathan Lyttle of Savills Real Estate.
“This sale represents a low 6,97 percent yield; it shows there is plenty of appetite for strongly-tenanted investment properties in good locations,” Lyttle says.
“This high-profile spot on busy Victoria Street is hard to beat as an investment location. Add in the reputable developer, quality buildings, long-term leases and excellent tenant mix, and it has very attractive set of investment fundamentals. Because of this, we had a number of offers at sharp yields.”
The building is also tenanted to architects MAP and recruitment firms Hays and EQI Global. It was sold along with the fully leased car park next door at 133 Victoria Street, the former site of the Department of Conservation, where 45 car parks are mainly leased to the tenants in 131 Victoria Street.
Together, the two titles generate annual net rental income of $766,813, with rent reviews built into the leases.
Lyttle says the freehold property’s sale by Countrywide Property comes at a time when good quality commercial investment stock in Christchurch is in high demand and difficult to come by.
“Since the earthquakes, new investment assets in good locations have been sought after. Investors have recognised that in a low interest rate environment, commercial property offers a much better return than cash sitting in the bank. Even though prime commercial property yields have been trending downwards, the asset class still offers a very significant return margin over bank deposits.”
Lyttle says Countrywide Property bought the earthquake-damaged 1655sqm building, formerly occupied by Warren and Mahoney, and refurbished and strengthened it to 100 percent of building code in 2013.
“The refurbishment has transformed the interior from a dated, partitioned office to a modern, open-plan space with plenty of natural light and a contemporary fit out. It can now be considered an A-grade asset.”
200 Mount Wellington Highway (retail)
An anonymous international sports star has bought a new retail development in the Auckland suburb of Mount Wellington.
The retail centre at 200 Mount Wellington Highway is anchored by National Childcare on a 20-year lease with built-in Consumer Price Index rental reviews. The majority of the remaining leases are to well-established national or international retail brands including Tank, Sals Pizza and Zambrero.
“The sportsperson can’t be named at this time but he has close ties with New Zealand,” says Layne Harwood, country head and national director of capital markets for Knight Frank who negotiated the transaction with colleague Josh Franklin.
Harwood says the sporty buyer was looking for a commercial investment opportunity and Knight Frank was engaged to advise on an investment strategy.
“We determined that an off-market approach suited the investor best and that a low-risk, low-maintenance development which was multi-tenanted with extended tenancy profile, was the ideal investment. It was challenging to find, and particularly in this market.
“However, 200 Mount Wellington Highway suited that investment strategy perfectly. It was in the process of being developed by Broadway Property Group, which has a reputation for understanding retail tenants and for delivering high quality investment products with long-term investment appeal.”
Franklin says the new development occupies on a high profile corner location with dual access and is conveniently located between Stonefields and Sylvia Park.
It is adjacent to the new Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) transport link, close to key staff catchments and is 1.5km from the Mount Wellington State Highway 1 interchange.
“Aside from being new, which was one of the investor’s key requirements, the development provides multiple tenants with a weighted average lease term of close to 11 years. The purchase price was close to $13 million and reflected a yield of 5.6 percent on the net annual income.”
Harwood says the buyer is “completely hands off” so an easily managed property with a low risk profile was the primary requirement.
“The sale of 200 Mount Wellington Highway is an excellent outcome for the investor, who is extremely happy with the acquisition and equally good for Broadway Property Group, which has achieved a premium price through an off-market process.”
Hello sale for Brazier bookshop (retail)
A former Balmoral, Auckland, bookshop and residence of the late “Hello Sailor” lead singer, Graham Brazier has been purchased by a private investor for $1,150,000 after being presented at auction by Michael Greer of Ray White Broadway.
The 153sqm retail and residential 1920s character building at 714 Dominion Road, Balmoral, housed a book shop owned by Christina Brazier.
The vacant work-live building over two levels comprises a ground floor shop with an upstairs two-bedroom, one-bathroom flat.
Windsor Castle sold
Famous 1850s pub, the Windsor Castle has sold for $6,620,000 through Cameron Melhuish and Mike Adams of Bayleys Auckland. The 890sqm corner site at 144 Parnell Road, on the intersection with Windsor Street, sold at a 3.8 percent yield, fully leased to two tenants. A hospitality business leases the ground floor with a legal firm occupying upper-level character office space
