Lendlease and its co-investor, Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), have sold an A$895m (€514m) shopping centre in Australia to local investor Fawkner Property.
The price paid for the Erina Fair regional shopping centre on NSW Central Coast represented the largest ever 100% trade of an Australian shopping centre, according to the brokers for the sale.
The asset has been acquired through an unlisted Fawkner fund, which has raised more than A$400m in equity. The company, controlled by Chris Garnaut, is a co-investor in the fund.
Positioned on a 40.8ha site, the centre provides significant optionality for future value-add developments and masterplan initiatives, supporting long-term income growth and capital upside.
With the addition of Erina Fair, Fawkner Property now owns a portfolio of shopping centres, valued at A$3.5bn.
The property was the last major asset in Lendlease’s unlisted Australian Prime Property Fund (APPF) Retail. The fund is now expected to be wound up.
CBRE and JLL negotiated the NSW Central Coast transaction, on behalf of Lendlease’s APPF Retail and NPS.
Simon Rooney, CBRE’s head of retail capital markets – Pacific, said domestic and offshore capital were actively reallocating back into the retail sector, driven by renewed conviction in the outlook, compelling risk-adjusted returns, and an increasingly competitive market environment.
Nick Willis, executive director for JLL’s Australian and New Zealand Retail Investment Team, said: “The sale of Erina Fair is a significant milestone in Australian retail property.”
Willis said demand globally for retail was resurging, initially led by strong performance out of the US and increased global transactions such as Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield acquisition of St James Quarter in Edinburgh and Aware Super’s recent 31.3% acquisition in the European Outlet Mall Venture platform.
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