Outstanding Queensland funeral parlour

When it comes to commercial property investments, few could be safer than a funeral parlour.

Everyone needs a funeral parlour eventually, as they say, but even by those standards, as an investment a Mackay property set to be auctioned early next month is about as good as they come.

The property at 189 Alfred Street in the northern Queensland hub of Mackay is tenanted by Mackay Funerals, which has operated in Mackay for more than 130 years and is now owned by ASX-listed InvoCare, the largest funeral provider in the Asia-Pacific.

The 609 sqm site includes the 287 sqm funeral home, which has a 50-seat chapel and its own mortuary, as well as other improvements. The property was also given a major $450,000 refurbishment last year.

It will be auctioned at Burgess Rawson’s next Investment Portfolio Auction at Crown Casino on Wednesday, August 7.

Burgess Rawson director Raoul Holderhead said funeral parlours continued to rank among the most secure commercial property investments, as there will always be demand.

“You think about doctors, dentists and vet clinics. They’ll be there for decades, and it’s the same for funeral parlours,” Holderhead said.

“They’re technology proof – people will always need them, and that’s what makes them very popular and successful as investments.”

Mackay Funerals was established in 1881 and has occupied this site since the early 1990s, and has a brand new 10-year lease with two additional 10-year options. The lease currently returns $107,000 plus GST per annum.

Holderhead said price expectations were around $1.55 million, which would see a yield of about 7%.

“I’d be very surprised if we don’t get to those sorts of levels,” he said.

“It’s an outstanding opportunity in Queensland’s fastest growing commercial centre, positioned perfectly in the Mackay CBD.”

Burgess Rawson’s 130th Investment Portfolio Auction will be held in Crown Casino’s River Room at 11am on Wednesday, August 7.