Charter Hall makes progress on Long WALE REIT plan

Charter Hall makes progress on Long WALE REIT planA Coles distribution centre in Melbourne, purchased by Charter Hall Group for $100 million, is believed to be the first property purchased for the group’s planned Charter Hall Long WALE REIT to be launched later this year.The centre, which services most of the Coles supermarkets in Victoria, is leased to Coles until 2032. It was purpose built for Coles and has a total area of more than 69,000 sqm, with capacity to expand by another 10,000 sqm.Net annual rental is understood to be $5.3 million, which would show an initial yield of 5.3 per cent.Vendor of the distribution centre at Truganina is RF Capital, a company associated with Andrew Roberts.The sale was negotiated by CBRE and JLL.The Long WALE REIT is expected to list in October, with JP Morgan and UBS advising Charter Hall. In June the company announced that the REIT will be comprised of a geographically diversified portfolio of industrial, office and hospitality assets with a total value of more than $1 billion and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of more than 12 years.