Charter Hall has expanded its Australian retail portfolio with the landmark $250.3 million acquisition from Vicinity Centres of Whitsunday Plaza in Airlie Beach, Gympie Central north of the Sunshine Coast, and Armidale Central in Northern NSW.
CBRE’s Head of Retail Capital Markets – Pacific, Simon Rooney was exclusively appointed to steer the sale process via an off-market Expressions of Interest campaign.
“The Vicinity Centres Sub-Regional Portfolio sales process was highly competitive, generated significant enquiry, genuine buyer interest and competitive bidding on both a portfolio and individual asset basis, including both private and institutional investors,” Mr Rooney said.
“Opportunities of this scale and quality are rarely available and the combination of the portfolio’s exceptional tenant performance and the dominance of these assets within their respective catchments drove significant interest.”
Some $2.1 billion in sub-regional shopping centres have transacted in Australia in 2025 and 2026, with investor demand and appetite remaining strong for the sub-sector, given the strong non-discretionary focus, enhanced growth profile and potential for immediate and genuine value-add opportunities.
Benefitting from a diverse and resilient tenancy mix, the assets are underpinned by long-term leases to leading national retailers, with national and chain retailers representing 91% of the portfolio’s combined GLA of 50,978sqm.
The portfolio generates exceptional combined turnover of $450.6 million, underpinned by outstanding combined supermarket productivity of $18,245/sqm, with all three centres securely leased to Woolworths supermarkets.
The centres offer strong, in-built rental growth, with over 68% of the portfolio’s gross rental income linked to fixed annual increases of either 3%, 4%, 5%, CPI or CPI+2.5%.
Whitsunday Plaza is the dominant retail destination within the wider Whitsunday region. Situated at the core of the Airlie Beach retail hub, the centre is anchored by Woolworths and Big W and services an established resident population of 40,260 residents in addition to a thriving tourism market. Outperforming the Urbis Sub-Regional 2024 benchmark by 70%, the centre achieves outstanding specialty productivity of $16,078/sqm, further bolstered by a sustainable Occupancy Cost Ratio (OCR) of 8.0%.
Gympie Central is anchored by Woolworths and Big W and has a gross lettable area of 14,155sqm. Located approximately 80 kilometres north- west of Maroochydore, the centre provides a strong local convenience offer and is the only sub-regional centre in its trade area of over 67,000 people. The centre benefits from exceptional specialty productivity of $14,310/sqm, 52% above the Urbis Sub-Regional 2024 benchmark, together with a supportive OCR of 9.5%.
Armidale Central is New England’s premier shopping destination providing an outstanding convenience and destinational offering. Occupying a prominent, highly accessible 24,370sqm site within the Armidale CBD, it is securely anchored by a strong performing Woolworths and Kmart, supported by The Reject Shop, 33 specialties and kiosks across 14,512sqm of GLA.
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