- A 50% stake in Sunshine Marketplace has been offered to the market by Challenger
- Comes at a time of ultra-low retail asset supply in Victoria
- Shopping mall only covers 28% of 12-hectare site, presenting unique development opportunity
A 50% stake in a shopping mall in Melbourne’s inner west has been offered to the market, as retail investment supply hits record lows.
Investment management firm Challenger will sell a half stake in Sunshine Marketplace, located at 80 Harvester Road in Sunshine.
The remaining stake in the asset is held by Vicinity Centres, who will continue to manage the shopping mall’s operations.
The sub-regional shopping centre spans 34,200 sqm and is anchored by Woolworths, Big W and Village Cinemas. The centre also features an additional 50 speciality retailers.
Challenger has appointed JLL agents Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher to the sale, which will be offered to the market via an International Expressions of Interest campaign.
Low site coverage presents prime development opportunity
The half stake represents a rare offering to the Victorian market, amid record low supply levels for retail assets.
According to JLL research, transactions on Victorian retail assets are down by 84% since last year, and down 78% on the five-year average.
In addition to the asset’s rarity, Sunshine Marketplace presents investors with a unique development opportunity as the shopping mall occupies a nominal 28% of the 12.22-hectare landholding.
The property has received approval for an entertainment precinct with an 84 key serviced apartment tower. The site also has a pending DA for a 10-level office building with 13,000 sqm of net-lettable area.
“The offering provides an opportunity to not only acquire a dominant Melbourne asset that is underpinned by an unparalleled landholding, but also an ability to partner with market-leading retail manager Vicinity,” said Mr Willis.
“These opportunities are unique and typically reserved for larger institutions, however the price point of Sunshine Marketplace opens this opportunity up to private investors, developers, managers and syndicators.”
Nick Willis, JLL
The site is located 750m from the Sunshine train station, set to benefit from the Metro Tunnel and Melbourne Airport Rail Link due for completion in 2024 and 2029.
As part of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link project, funded by the Australian and Victorian Governments, the Sunshine station will receive a new regional platform.
Once complete, the newly transformed station will be serviced by trains every two to three minutes at peak times, including airport services every ten minutes.
Mr Hatched said the opportunity to acquire the stake is “unprecedented”, highlighting the rarity of a 12-hectare freehold adjoining a major train station in Melbourne.
“The surrounding infrastructure development with the Melbourne Airport Rail Link will be key to unlocking the future mixed-use development potential of Sunshine Marketplace.
“The shopping centre controls the largest landholding in Sunshine, just metres from the train station and with a site coverage ratio of only 28% – the increased densification of the site is inevitable,” concluded Mr Hatcher.
