Fortius has purchased the freehold interest in Sydney’s Lower North Shore lifestyle shopping centre at a price that reflects a yield of 7 per cent.

The Cammeray Square lifestyle and convenience centre services one million customers annually on Sydney’s Lower North Shore and is set over a 6,815 square metre corner site fronting Miller Street and Amherst Street.

The centre forms part of a mixed-use development comprising four buildings surrounding a central plaza, with retail tenancies situated on the
ground floor anchored by Harris Farm Markets and comprising 15 specialty shops and restaurants.

At a glance:

• Fortius buys Stockland’s Cammeray Square shopping centre for $39.05 million 
• The asset is set over a 6,815 square metre corner site and forms part of a mixed-use development spread over four buildings surrounding a central plaza
• The price translates to $5730 per square metre

The upper levels are occupied by five commercial tenancies, including childcare operator, Only About Children, and a strong medical offering.

The fully leased site has a WALE of 5.8 years by area.

Cushman & Wakefield’s National Head of Retail Investments, Nick Potter, and Senior Executive, Billy Dent, managed the EOI campaign and sale on behalf of Stockland.

According to Cushman & Wakefield’s Retail Investments report, neighbourhood centres were the most traded of all retail assets during Q3 2019, with 14 deals equating to $565 million in assets being sold during the quarter with an average initial yield of 6.58 per cent

The sale of Cammeray Square follows a number of other neighbourhood centre sales in New South Wales within mixed-use or potential mixed-use sites brokered by Cushman & Wakefield, including the sale of Abacus Property Group’s Liverpool Plaza shopping centre to a private development group for $46 million.

Sam Sproats, Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director, Fortius Funds Management Pty Ltd said the acquisition of Cammeray Square was consistent with the firm’s investment strategy of acquiring well-located inner urban retail and mixed-use assets underpinned by diverse income streams supported by strong and growing catchments.

“In an evolving retail landscape, retail requires continued reinvention to appeal to and maintain customer interest and loyalty,” Sproats said.

“At Cammeray Square, we see key opportunities to improve the customer experience through ambience, repositioning and accessibility initiatives that strengthens the tenancy mix and enhances the offering to the local community and broader retail market.”

Cushman & Wakefield’s Head of Retail Investments, Nick Potter, said that neighbour shopping centres like Cammeray Square with a populous inner-city location, and a strong weighting towards defensive, convenience and serviced based occupiers, were still experiencing strong demand despite a softer
retail environment.

“We continue to see the trend towards neighbourhood centres integrating with strata mixed-use developments,” Potter said.

“This has helped underpin strong investor interest in these centres in New South Wales and across the east coast and liquidity is expected to continue.”

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