15-Year-Old Childcare Centre Changes Hands for $9.2 Million

An international investor has acquired a childcare centre in Avondale Heights for $9.2 million, reflecting a growing market trend of quality childcare centre assets attracting significant investor interest.

CBRE’s Australian Healthcare & Social Infrastructure team of Sandro Peluso, Marcello Caspani-Muto and Jimmy Tat managed the sale of the property at 63-67 Canning Street to an international investor based in the Middle East.

Mr Caspani-Muto noted the sale was a change from the Asian-based capital which has dominated acquisitions in the first half of 2025.

“While there is no shortage of domestic capital in Australia, we have seen more of a hesitancy issue with buyers not willing to pull the trigger on quality assets. We expect to see a return of this capital, but in the interim we’ve needed to be more creative with our investor sourcing and expanding our reach into Dubai and Abu Dabi is proving highly successful. There is a great store of wealth with these buyers and some are expats of Australia or the UK,” Mr Caspani-Muto said.

Located on a corner allotment of 2,287sqm, the childcare centre was constructed in 2010 and has a building area of 935sqm. The childcare centre has long been a staple of the local community and is operated by a private single centre operator with a 20-year lease with multiple 10-year options.

Mr Peluso noted the childcare centre operator’s proven track record of success is one of the factors that captured initial investor interest.

“The past 12 months have made it clear no two transactions are the same and we need to find new ways to operate because the processes and methods that brought success over the past 10 years don’t suit the needs of this market,” he explained.

“The age of this asset, when combined with its high price point, certainly narrowed the market however, sitting down with the tenant directly and learning more about their 40+ year history in the childcare sector and the local track record of the business allowed us to demonstrate long-term confidence in this properties success to investors,” Mr Peluso added.

The CBRE team have now transacted nine premium childcare centres in 2025 across Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland ranging in price from $5.5 million to $12.5 million.