Highfields Plaza sells for $16.3m in Active Retail Market

31 May 2022

Highfields Plaza, located near Toowoomba, has sold for $16.3million in an off-market transaction, adding further to strong buyer activity for neighbourhood centres.

Savills’ Peter Tyson and Jon Tyson handled the deal on behalf of Whistle Funds Management, led by William Silverman who originally acquired the centre in 2021.

Peter Tyson said “Highfields Plaza sold quickly to a Melbourne based private investor group following a short off-market sale process and reflected a passing yield of 4.86%”.

“This result continues a strong run of transactions of neighbourhood retail assets nationwide and reflects the strong demand for the asset class”, Tyson said.

Anchored by a Coles supermarket and with 11 specialty tenancies, Highfields Plaza was originally developed in 2007 and comprises a 4,253 sqm convenience-based neighbourhood centre focused on daily needs.

Located 14 kilometres north of the Toowoomba CBD, the suburb Highfields is experiencing rapid and ongoing residential growth and the area’s popularity has only increased in recent times as more city dwellers escape to similar regional locations due to affordability and lifestyle choices.

Jon Tyson said the “Centre’s catchment features a young affluent demographic that is forecast to grow by over 26% by 2036 and is well positioned to service the growing community.”

Savills also recently handled the sale of two other centres in the Toowoomba region, including the Woolworths anchored Drayton Central for $34.34m to SCA Property Group and the IGA based Kingsthorpe Shopping Centre for $6m to local fund manager NatGen.