Developer’s $11m Sale

Less than a year after Launceston’s first Good Guys location opened, a well-known Launceston developer has nabbed a stake in the eight-figure sell-off of the outlet’s Invermay plot. The site, which was developed by King Wharf Developments, sold for $11 million at an auction handled by Burgess Rawson agent Matthew Wright in Melbourne late last month, pushing past the reserve price of $9.5 million. Launceston businessman Errol Stewart, part-owner of King Wharf Developments and the developer behind the nearby Silo Hotel, spearheaded the development of the city’s first Good Guys outlet after securing an agreement with outlet’s parent company in 2020. When it opened in July last year, the site marked only the second location in Tasmania for the national brand. It should be noted that the sale will not affect the operation of the outlet, which retains its existing seven-year lease that extends to 2028 and includes an option to further extend through to 2048. The current tenant is expected to pay just over $530,000 in rent in the financial year to June 2022. Speaking on the sale, Mr Stewart said the original intention was not to sell the site so soon but a busy backlog of projects had forced him to reassess his options. “There’s a lot we’ve go ton the drawing board at the minute […] It was a really
good asset and we thought it was the right time,” he said. Front and centre on the developer’s to-do list would be the anticipated $60 million Kanamaluka Cultural Centre, which Mr Stewart unveiled last year. Described as Launceston’s answer to the Sydney Opera House, the proposal remains in the early stages and is awaiting funding commitments from various levels of government. Several environmental and impact assessments on the project are nearing completion and a new development application is expected shortly. If approved, Mr Stewart has also flagged a 119-room expansion toThe SiloHotel to provide accommodation to an expected influx of tourists to the cultural centre. Among Mr Stewart’s other ongoing projects are renovations at the company’s Burnie operations, a new Kia and Suzuki showroom in Devonport as well as a Launceston RSEA showroom, which will sit behind the Good Guys site.