Pialba Place shopping centre in Hervey Bay, Queensland, has been sold by Stonebridge Retail Investments to a syndicate of private investors for $39.9 million.
In a sale managed by JLL Retail Investments, the company said the 4.38ha site is one of 11 sub-regional shopping centres traded nationally in the fiscal year, while only eight new developments are currently proposed across the eastern seaboard.
“Pialba Place attracted a strong level of competition throughout the campaign, which reflects the limited opportunities investors have to acquire quality sub-regional shopping centres,” said Stonebridge Retail Investments national partner Carl Molony.
“The substantial underlying landholding combined with rental reversion potential and strong population growth provided buyers with a compelling investment proposition beyond the existing income profile.”
The Hervey Bay trade area has a population that is forecast to increase by 2.2 per cent per year to 2031, which is 41 per cent above the average for Queensland. It sits alongside a wider forecasted $2 billion growth for the Fraser Coast economy.
“Pialba Place is underpinned by strong anchor performance and a defensive income profile, with the centre well positioned to benefit from continued population and economic growth across the Hervey Bay catchment,” added JLL Retail Investments’ Jacob Swan.
Swan said pricing tension is likely to persist amid low supply for such centres. “There’s no pipeline coming to correct this,” he added. “Every genuine sub-regional campaign from here is going to be contested.”
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