Bell Park Plaza in Geelong Sells for $20.58 Million

ALDI anchored Bell Park Plaza Shopping Centre in Geelong has changed hands for $20.58 million following a highly competitive Expressions of Interest campaign.

The sale was handled by Burgess Rawson’s Raoul Holderhead, Shaun Venables and Zomart He, together with JLL’s Stuart Taylor, Tom Noonan and MingXuan Li.

The sale price reflects a strong initial passing yield of 5.65 per cent, representing a 29bps premium to the 2024 average yield for Victorian Neighbourhood centres generally, and a 47bps premium to the 10-year yield average for regionally located Victorian Neighbourhood Centres (JLL Research).

Located at 218–222 Anakie Road, Bell Post Hill, the 4,242 sqm fully leased shopping centre is anchored by a 1,591sqm ALDI supermarket, Cheap as Chips and supported by a mix of essential service retailers including a pharmacy, medical centre and Celebrations Liquor.

Mr Holderhead said that the centre’s fundamentals made it a standout. “This result reinforces the demand for well-positioned, essential-service assets. With strong leases, low specialty rents and limited management overheads, Bell Park Plaza ticked all the boxes for long-term investors.”

“The strong result reflected Geelong’s ongoing growth and the enduring appeal of well-leased, daily-needs retail. “Geelong is one of Victoria’s fastest-growing regions, supported by major infrastructure investment and a strengthening local economy. Centres like Bell Park Plaza offer long-term capital appreciation and reliable income streams,” he said.

Mr Taylor commented, “Bell Park Plaza marks the third Victorian neighbourhood centre to transact in 2025, with the sale reflecting the strongest yield achieved in the retail sub-sector this year”.

“The successful purchaser was a first-time shopping centre buyer, illustrating how this retail sub-sector continues to attract new entrant capital. Investors are looking to the Victorian neighbourhood shopping centre sector as a defensive asset class, offering attractive risk adjusted returns,” said Taylor.

Mr He added the buyer pool continues to deepen for assets of this quality. The Expressions of Interest campaign drew strong attention from a wide pool of investors, resulting in seven formal offers and almost 200 enquiries. The level of interest highlights the continued demand for daily-needs retail assets, with the buyer pool including groups holding more than $200 million in undeployed capital actively seeking secure, income-producing investments.

“Investors are actively pursuing neighbourhood centres with strong tenant covenants and low maintenance requirements. The level of enquiry we received on Bell Park Plaza shows how competitive this part of the market remains” concluded Mr He.