Charter Hall Retail REIT has sold $62.35m of regional malls to Lascorp.
Included in the transaction were;
- Coles Bairnsdale for $18.4 million on a 5.45% yield,
- Kyneton Shopping Centre for $22.85 million on a 5.5% yield, and
- Coles Moe for $21.1 million on a 5.7% yield.
Lascorp, led by property veteran Michael Lasky, is a developer of retail assets, but has also turned its focus on acquiring existing centres which offer "exceptional growth potential".
Michael Lasky said, "We have every bit of confidence in the supermarket and convenience retail market as a long-term defensive asset class."
"The assets acquired are all similar in nature, being net lease supermarkets with a long history of strong performance with opportunity for consistent future rental growth."
The Charter Hall retail fund has been selling off its smaller non core assets, particularly in non metro locations, to focus on the slightly larger malls in the metropolitan areas which offer further development potential.