- Acquired for NZ$10.5M (A$9.49M)
- Two floors with a total 1,400 square metres
- Located on in Takapuna on Auckland's lower north shore
Co-working space company WOTSO (ASX: WOT) has acquired its first New Zealand property on Auckland’s lower north shore.
Located at 9 Huron Street, Takapuna, the two-floor, 1,359 square metre property was acquired for NZ$10.5 million (A$9.49 million), and includes a basement car park.
The acquisition was made in a tight market, the Bayleys Real Estate Auckland Lower North Shore commercial report for 1H 2022 found the three trends included difficulty finding vacant premises, a prevalence in smaller unit developments, and low vacancy rates paired with strong demand leading to multi-offer leasing scenarios.
Benchmark modern office rents were between NZ$390 and $430 per square metre per annum and benchmark yields around 5% to 6%, according to the Bayleys report.
Dated offices fetched slightly lower at NZ$320 to $360, with higher yields between 6.1% and 6.6%.
In CBRE’s Q1 2022 Auckland report, non-CBD office vacancy rates (which includes Takapuna) were stable at around 8.2% to 8.3%, with some occupancy losses in lower grade offices eventually pushing vacancy rates to 8.5% for H2 2021.
WOTSO noted the acquisition brings the property full circle for WOTSO and BlackWall founder Seph Glew, whom negotiated an off-the-plan purchase of the property in the late seventies and named the building Karaka House, a name that has survived to this day.
Joint Managing Directors of BlackWall Jessie Glew and Tim Brown said: “With the way people work continuing to evolve, many companies are turning to flexible workspaces to meet their needs instead of the more traditional lease approach to office space.”
“New Zealand, like Australia, is a country full of hard working small business operators and WOTSO Takapuna will provide the first of a network of easy and cost effective solutions for businesses to work from.”
WOTSO expects the property to open in early 2023.
