12 Nov 2014
Geelong industrial and commercial sites have attracted plenty of attention and money of late. And with strong interest coming from locals and those further afield, there are good signs in abundance, LACHIE YOUNG reports.
ONE of Geelong’s biggest industrial transactions in recent times took place last week. An undisclosed buyer snapped up 36-40 Fellmongers Rd, Breakwater. Agent Tim Darcy could not reveal the identity of the purchaser, but did say it was a local buyer and that the eventual sales figure was close to the asking price of $7.9 million.
Situated on 8.1ha of land, the 20,800sq m building is leased by Huyck Wangner, a subsidiary of Xerium International, which Mr Darcy said made the property an appealing prospect to potential investors. “They (the purchasers) haven’t got any immediate plans to occupy the existing amenity,” Mr Darcy said. “They might look to do something with the residual land that’s not subject to lease, but they’re not sure exactly what their short to medium term plans might be. “This provided (them) with the opportunity to buy something that had income, but also provided some value-add through the residual land and potential development of that land via an existing planning permit for a subdivision.” The Darcy Jarman director said the property had been on the market for only three weeks. He said that the sale would be a boost to the region’s industrial sector. “Given all the things that have been spoken about in terms of Geelong, this is an industrial grade asset,” Mr Darcy said. “It sits in a prominent location and there were a number of parties that were willing to entertain acquiring it, which I think says a lot for the state of our market. “The fact there wasn’t one buyer we were dealing with — there were a number of parties, and predominantly local parties, — I think speaks volumes for people’s level of confidence in terms of investing in Geelong. “It instils confidence when someone has been prepared to pay that kind of money for an industrial- grade asset.”
To give the figure some scope, in July last year, Melbourne-based Impact Investment Group bought the 50,180sq m Quiksilver Asia Pacific Distribution Centre in Corio Quay Rd for $13 million. Last month, the same group bought the headquarters of the Transport Accident Commission in Brougham St for $95.8 million. Impact Group’s chief executive, Christopher Lock, said at the time of the TAC purchase Geelong was an attractive proposition for the group and its future investment goals. “We hold a great deal of confidence in Geelong — it’s a good long-term target,” Mr Lock said. “It is an extremely rare opportunity that aligns with our strategy to provide investors with robust returns that are enhanced and strengthened by our strong environmental and social agenda.”
Huyck Wangner currently leases the building component of the Fellmongers Rd, Breakwater, property for $482,000 a year. However, the land is not leased and carries a planning approval for a 15-lot subdivision. The lot sizes for potential subdivision range from 1400sq m to 1500q m.
From the Geelong Advertiser, 12 November, 2014