This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
ANNE Kantor, the sister to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has sold a prized freehold in Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Brighton after 23 years of ownership.
Nine Media reported that Kantor was the vendor of the 35 Church St Brighton property.
Fitzroys agents Chris James and Mark Talbot negotiated the $6.105 million auction sale and said it was hotly contested between local, interstate and offshore investors.
The sale price reflected a sharp 3.5% yield.
“The property represented a generational chance to secure a retail investment in the absolute prime of a blue-ribbon shopping strip, which was reflected in the 100-plus enquiries received from around Australia and offshore,” James said.
“Astute investors are recognising that with recent cuts to the official interest rate, it is an ideal time to secure strong income-producing assets.
“Offshore buyers continue to be drawn to Australia’s safe-haven status. Church Street, Brighton consistently presents the strongest fundamentals for retail property investments, retaining its reputation as Melbourne’s best-performing suburban retail strip, and perhaps in Australia,” he added.
Set on a 288 sqm site, the property is leased to the National Australia Bank, returning a net income of $214,470 per annum plus all outgoings.
Talbot said opportunities for investors to acquire a Church St Brighton asset are rare, let alone a double fronted freehold of this nature, and the depth of campaign enquiry and strong result reflected the tightly held nature of the strip, its constrained supply, and positioning within one of Melbourne’s most affluent and established consumer catchments.
Fitzroys sold the two-level, 110 sqm building home stationery company Smiggle, part of major retail player Solomon Lew’s ASX-listed Premier Investments, at 67 Church St last year for $2.41 million, at a yield of 3.2%.
