Petrol stations collect $14.5 million from investors, developers

Three east coast service station investments sold on Wednesday while last week, a developer purchased a redundant one on a prominent corner site in the regional Victorian town of Ballarat, to build another.

All up some $14.5 million has been outlaid on the property type in a fortnight (with two more trading earlier this month, both in Victoria, both for more than $4m).

More than $1 billion has been spent on petrol stations since mid-last year – the bulk from Charter Hall which acquired a half share interest in 225 of them from BP, for $840m.

Two tranches of 7-Eleven occupied service stations – 33 assets – traded for a total of $156.1m – at auction events in October and four months ago.

Coincidentally the agency which marketed the 7-Eleven properties last year and over the summer, Burgess Rawson, was responsible for the three biggest service station deals this week.

One – in Brisbane’s south west Redbank Plains – was rented to the same retailer.

At 7005 Mount Juillerat Drive, it achieved $5.5m – reflecting a 5.95 per cent yield.

A McDonald’s restaurant is set to open later this year, next door.

In Moama, opposite Echuca, at the New South Wales/Victoria border, a Caltex leased asset at 73 Meninya Street (or the Cobb Highway) traded for $1.97m – a 7.99 per cent return.

The priciest petrol station to sell this week was at 1 Cranbourne-Frankston Road, Langwarrin, a fast-growing suburb 42km south east of Melbourne.

Tenanted to Viva Energy as a Shell, and with a Coles Express, it collected $6m – also on a 5.95 per cent yield.

Jamie Perlinger, Scott Meighan, Zomart He, Doug Doyle and Billy Holderhead variously sold these three investments.

A fourth they offered – in Harlin, about 90 minute drive north west of Redbank Plains – passed in on a vendor bid of $1.349m.

Burgess Rawson offered its service station investments as part of a portfolio auction event.

Fifteen assets formed part of it; 13 sold, either at the Crown Casino held function, or in the weeks prior.

All up, $46.8m was collected.

More than a third came from the sale of three childcare centre investments.

Mr Holderhead said the mix of buyers seeking commercial property at the moment, is divert, and while Wednesday was attended by the ‘usual property people such as investors from mainland China, developers and fund managers’ – buyers that walked away with titles included a plumber, telecommunications consultant, sky diver, retired retailer and sugar cane farmer.

Written and published by Marc Pallisco, Realestatesource.com.au