This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AMPOL has put a national portfolio of 18 surplus fuel station sites up for sale, varying from 345 sqm to more than 2.5 hectares in size and considered to be more valuable as development opportunities.
The portfolio of consists of five assets in Victoria, four in New South Wales, four in South Australia, two in Queensland and one in each of Western Australia, ACT and Tasmania.
Rebadged from Caltex, Ampol’s ambitions to release capital from the freeholds of its sites extends back two years following a heavy hit to its profit. It then sold off 25 freehold sites to Woolworths, Oliver Hume and other developers for $136 million.
Ampol last year then spun out half of its active fuel stations – totalling 23 sites across the country – into a $1.4 billion property trust jointly owned by Charter Hall Group and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. That portfolio included leaseback terms ranging from 11 through to 22 years plus options.
Brendan O’Rourke, head of investment management at Ampol Limited said the sites that are part of the new offering had been selected for divestment following an extensive network review.
“Whilst surplus to the Ampol network, the positions and locations present a wide array of development opportunities that will undoubtedly appeal to a broad cross-section of developers and owner occupiers across the country.
“Ampol’s remediation programme is drawing to a close and settlement of each property will occur post-remediation.”
They are available separately, in groups or in one line. expressions of interest through Lincoln Blackledge and Julian White from Stonebridge Property Group, closing 17th November.
Blackledge, said the offering comes as residential pricing growth has been evident across the entire nation over the past 12 months, meaning there is an increasing demand for development opportunities to fulfil this demand.
“In addition, many of these sites are located in quality regional centres, where local economies have been beneficiaries of enhanced popularity given the travel restrictions in place over recent times.”
Petrol stations have become a major fixture of commercial property portfolio auction events as investments. A one-hectare Ampol-anchored truck stop outside of Toowoomba sold for $11.2 million in August, on a 5.75% yield, while in recent weeks the Warrego Highway Travel Centre, also anchored by Ampol, sold for $16 million to ASX-listed APN Convenience Retail REIT.
