This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE Charter Hall Retail REIT has offloaded Rutherford Marketplace in the Hunter Region of New South Wales for $49.75 million, at a small premium to book value.
The sale represents the fifth convenience retail shopping centre sold by Charter Hall Retail REIT (CQR) in FY24, with total divestments over the year at $350 million at or above book values in aggregate.
Most of these divestments have been located in regional locations including Rutherford, Mackay and Rosebud.
“We continue to focus on curating the CQR convenience retail shopping centre portfolio towards a predominantly East Coast metropolitan portfolio, with assets that dominate their trade catchment and deliver consistent above-average income growth,” said Ben Ellis, CEO at Charter Hall Retail REIT.
“The part recycling of these sale proceeds into core metropolitan assets such as Eastgate in Sydney extends our continuous portfolio curation strategy.”
With the sale price at a premium to the December 2023 book value, proceeds will be used to reduce Charter Hall Retail REIT’s debt within the RP1 retail partnership.
CQR owns 50% of the RP1 partnership with TelstraSuper, since its inception in 2011.
Back in February, the REIT reported a $42.1 million loss, down from a statutory profit of $124.7 million.
Settlement on the sale of Rutherford Mall is expected for July 2024.
