Melbourne based IP Generation will acquire a 50% interest in a sub-regional Gold Coast mall being sold by QIC. The deals involves the Westfield Helensvale Centre along with additional land and has been priced at $185 million in total.
The half stake was put on the market in June by QIC Global Real Estate, which holds its interest in its flagship QIC Property Fund. The remaining half is held by ASX-listed Scentre, which last recorded the book value of its half share in the shopping centre at $195 million on a 6 per cent cap rate, a metric akin to an investment yield.
Located 45 minutes south of Brisbane, the 43,000sq m shopping centre, which opened in 2005, is anchored by KMart, Target, Woolworths, Coles, and Aldi supermarkets together with approximately 180 specialty retail stores. Located at the junction of two major highways, the centre has a trade area population of 345,000 residents with a total accessible market of 690,000 residents.
The off-market deal managed by CBRE’s Simon Rooney, represents a yield of around 6.25 per cent.
The Centre was effectively sold for $167.5 million with the 9.6 hectares of surplus land around the mall, selling for $17.5 million. Melbourne-based IP Generation is looking to raise capital from its network of high net worth investors to back the deal, which reflects a passing yield of 7.3 per cent on the main centre, according to market sources.
In 2019, IP Generation acquired Corio Central from Vicinity & Challenger in a $101m deal, reflecting an 8.1% cap rate and in June 2021, the group acquired Mildura Central for $81m and the $380m Lederer Portfolio of Neighbourhood Centres.