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Deal of the Week

  • June 02, 2015

Deal of the WeekBundaberg shopping centre, Hinkler Central, has been sold by Mirvac for $110 million to the Queensland Investment Corporation, amid unprecedented demand for sub-regional shopping centres.QIC, which manages $14 billion in assets, is also in the final stages purchasing the $130 million Domain Central shopping centre in Townsville.The Hinkler Center sale was brokered by Colliers International’s Lachlan MacGillivray and Stewart Gilchrist, and Sam and Dan McVay of McVay Real Estate.MacGillivray, Colliers’ head of retail investment, says the asset drew strong interest from both local and international investors, resulting in a highly competitive sale process.”The demand for quality sub-regional retail assets combined with the lack of product in 2015 will lead to further cap rate compression for quality centres like this,” MacGillivray says.Mirvac has sold more than $400 million in assets this financial year, while it has acquired major retail centres such as Harbourside and Birkenhead Point in Sydney.Only six sub-regional centres have transacted in 2015, with a total value of $570 million, pointing to a major undersupply of product. Investment activity in the sub-regional sector has been strong over the past few years with sales worth $2.24 billion from 26 transactions recorded in 2014; and sales worth $2.09 billion from 31 transactions in 2013. Sub-regional shopping centres accounted for 34 per cent of all retail sales in 2014. Hinkler Central, which comprises 20,7sqm of lettable space, is anchored by two major supermarkets and a discount department store, alongside more than 75 other specialty stores.