14/10/2011 - Master-full lift for slow market

Property deals are still being hammered out in the wake of the Queensland debut of hardware newcomer Masters, driving some much-needed sales and leasing activity. In the latest transaction, a company associated with the new home improvement chain has snapped up a development site at Noosaville on the Sunshine Coast in a $3.67 million deal.

Hydrox Holding Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of the joint venture between Woolworths and US hardware retail giant Lowe’s, has acquired a 2.587ha site adjoining Noosa’s largest shopping centre, Noosa Civic Centre. The site was one of four lots owned by S & L Developments, a company linked to Scott Juniper – the son of property tycoon Graeme Juniper.

It was marketed via an expression of interest campaign by Colliers International, which was appointed by receivers and managers Will Colwell and Greg Moloney of Ferrier Hodgson. Colliers Sunshine Coast managing director Nick Dowling said the site had attracted strong interest due to its key location, with a number of offers put on the table.

“The opportunity to acquire commercial alongside the likes of Big W and Woolworths is difficult to find in any market,” he said. Mr Dowling said Masters had been circling the holding for “quite a few months”. “It’s one of the few, if not the only site in Noosa that was suitable for them from a zoning and size point of view,” he said. “And also Bunning’s are just in the process of finishing a new store just up the road.”

In the leasing market, suppliers of hardware products to the new chain have sparked renewed activity as they seek to satisfy their space requirements.

C2C Logistics, linked to New Zealand based Southern Cross Forest Products has signed a three-year lease with a three-year option on two adjoining tenancies at 57 Trade Street, Lytton.

The Commitment comprises a total of 4000sqm in a metal-clad industrial building split into three tenancies and use of 1000sqm of hardstand. Phil Heggie, from Raine & Horne Commercial,  struck the deal at a leasing rate of $342,380 a year.

Mr Heggie said the new tenant has been scouting for space in the Australia TradeCoast precinct for only a couple of months “but they did look far and wide”. “In a short period of time, they canvased pretty thoroughly,” he said “The main considerations were proximity to the port of transportation of containers and access to major highways for distribution.”

Mr Heggie said the tenants space required was driven directly by its contract to supply a range of timber products to Masters, which plans to build 12 new stores and two new trade centres across Queensland in the next three years.

The Lytton complex also appealed for its “attractive rental rate” – about $85/sqm plus outgoings, he said.

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