$33.18 Million Splashed for Eli Waters Centre

Continuing the strong run of retail sales in South East Queensland, a Brisbane based private investor has swooped on the Eli Waters Shopping Centre in Hervey Bay on Queensland’s Fraser Coast for $33.18 million.

Peter Tyson and Jon Tyson of Savills Retail Investments handled the deal, which reflected a tight yield of 6.60%.

The 6,338 square metre enclosed mall is anchored by a 3,757 square metre Woolworths supermarket with 23 specialty shops and 1 kiosk tenancy.

Situated on Maryborough-Hervey Bay Road, Eli Waters Shopping Centre adjoins the Harvey Norman anchored large format retail centre at the gateway to Hervey Bay. The centre features 324 car parks on a 2 hectare corner site.

Peter Tyson said that the transaction and yield is reflective of both the strength of current market demand and strong attributes of the asset.

“With the current tight yield profile in the main metropolitan markets, investors are increasing their geographic scope of interest and regionally located centres are increasingly targeted by yield hungry investors.

“The purchaser was attracted to the centre’s strong trading performance, which is above benchmark levels and the strong ongoing population growth in the Hervey Bay catchment.

“The Fraser Coast LGA saw over 2.8 percent annual growth between 2001 and 2011 with a resident population now exceeding 100,000 people. There is significant future growth planned in and around Hervey Bay, much of it in the Eli Waters trade area at the western end of town,” Peter said.

Jon Tyson said that the region is also a popular tourist destination attracting some 3.1 million visitor nights in 2015-2016, equivalent to over 9,000 additional permanent residents.

“Many of these tourists are self-catering and add to demand for food and services,” Jon said.