The GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund is moving to sell a 50% interest in Northland Shopping Centre, a dominant regional shopping hub in Melbourne's rapidly growing northern suburbs.

Colliers and CBRE have been jointly appointed to manage the sale of the centre stake, which is strategically positioned in the vibrant city of Preston, just 13 kilometres from the Melbourne Central Business District, and serves a substantial trade area in excess of 520,000 residents.

Occupying a prominent 19.04-hectare site, Northland Shopping Centre presents significant development potential with a masterplan for a 30-year staged development. The centre features a substantial Gross Leasable Area (GLA) of approximately 98,000 square metres and is anchored by leading national retailers, including Myer, Target, Kmart, Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Hoyts Cinemas.

The prominent tenant mix includes one of the best performing Myer stores in Victoria and boasts an attractive major tenant weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of nearly 7.5 years by income.

Lachlan MacGillivray, Colliers Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Retail Capital Markets, and Simon Rooney, Head of Retail Capital Markets Pacific at CBRE, are leading the marketing of this offering.

"Recent market conditions have seen a resurgence of liquidity, driven by $3.1 billion in key scalable transactions over the past year. This favourable environment makes the introduction of Northland Shopping Centre particularly timely, presenting a unique opportunity for investors," said Mr MacGillivray. “The last transacted stake in a Super Regional asset in Victoria was Pacific Werribee in 2018 at a reported cap rate of 4%, highlighting the extreme rarity of this offering."

CBRE’s Mr Rooney noted: “The value proposition for regional shopping centres has become increasingly compelling for investors, given the superior comparative returns on offer, rebased sustainable income profiles and robust performance fundamentals, as compared to most alternative commercial property asset classes.”

“The renewed investor interest in the sector is supported by robust long-term fundamentals, including limited new supply; ongoing population, jobs and wage growth; and low vacancy rates, all of which are providing strong tailwinds for the retail sector,” Mr Rooney added.

As Australia's fastest-growing capital city, Melbourne is forecast to have over 6.13 million residents by 2032, surpassing Sydney as the nation's most populated city, with the potential to benefit from the centre's masterplanned development. The masterplan envisions the creation of 2,300 new residential dwellings and 47,000 square metres of commercial office space to complement the existing shopping centre.

Northland Shopping Centre includes the only department store in Melbourne's northern suburbs and is unique within a 7-kilometre radius for its triple supermarket and double discount department store offerings. The centre's mini-major and specialty tenants include brands such as Mecca, Uniqlo, H&M, Seed and Kookai, which are not represented within a 10-kilometre radius.

The centre is co-owned and managed by Vicinity Centres, one of Australia's leading retail landlords.

It boasts strong investment fundamentals, with approximately 60% of its income subject to annual reviews of 3%- 5% and a strong representation of national and chain retailers.

The centre is strategically located near major roads and public transport options, including a dedicated bus terminal. The surrounding area features medium to high-density residential developments and significant commercial and retail precincts, with anticipated residential growth contributing to increased foot traffic and centre productivity.

This rare opportunity to acquire a 50% interest in Northland Shopping Centre is available through Expressions of Interest (EOI), closing in late October.

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