This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
ASX-listed BWP Trust has offloaded a commercial site and former Bunnings Warehouse in the Hunter Region’s Lake Macquarie for $20.5 million.
A retail developer bought the site at 393 Pacific Highway, Belmont North, which is on an expansive land holding of 40,380 sqm and offered opportunity for industrial, retail or mixed-use usages.
Bunnings closed at the site in early 2021, moving to new premises at Bennetts Green, and BWP Trust put the property to market early in this year.
The Belmont North property was sold by James Wilson and Ben Wilkinson of Colliers.
The on-market campaign garnered over 150 enquiries, with 11 offers and over $170 million in value of unsatisfied capital, the agents said, and engaged a range of developers and owner occupiers across the large format retail, entertainment, retail, industrial and storage sectors.
“The exceptionally strong depth of market competing for the site highlights the strategic value Bunnings Warehouse offer investors both as a tenanted investment, and the flexibility for an alternative use including in the retail, industrial, storage or large format retail sector,” Wilson said.
“Investor appetite was underpinned by the building and construction efficiencies provided by the site, which included the site already being benched and levelled, with convenient access via a signalised intersection to the Pacific Highway.”
The existing 12,820 sqm warehouse and 290 on-grade car park allowed for investors to reposition the site quickly, he added.
BWP Trust nearly tripled its net profit in FY24, a year that saw it create a $3.5 billion large-format retail trust via the takeover of Newmark Property REIT.
