Blenheim’s town centre Countdown supermarket, which is up for sale with over twelve and a half years of its lease to run, is expected to attract considerable interest from investors looking for recession-proof property in a post-Covid market.
Built in 2000 and having recently undergone an exterior upgrade, the supermarket is being sold by tender, with tenders closing on September 7.
It is being marketed by Brice Clark and Henry Thompson of Whillans Realty Group.
The property was purchased by NZX-listed Investore Property Ltd in 2015 as part of a larger $287 million portfolio of 19 Countdown supermarkets nationwide.
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The Blenheim supermarket has a current net annual rental income of $778,160 with a final lease expiry date including all rights of renewal, in February 2065.
Centrally located two blocks west from Market Street, the town’s main retail thoroughfare, the highly visible 3031 square metre site has four road frontages.
It adjoins a 140-space Marlborough District Council-owned car park, with a long-term arrangement providing parking for Countdown shoppers.
In addition to servicing the supermarket, this public car park provides a valuable amenity for people visiting the city centre, driving two-way traffic between the supermarket and surrounding retail and hospitality venues.
As part of the recent upgrade, the supermarket’s exterior has been repainted and Countdown is planning an extension of online pickup bays for the store.
The main retail trade area is located at ground level with customer access provided from the car park.
A mezzanine with offices and staff amenities is located on the southern side of the building and direct truck access is from Henry Street to the loading dock area.
Clark says they’re expecting a lot of interest in the property. Its long lease to Countdown and investment size will appeal to family trusts, local syndicates and high net worth investors.
“Single tenanted, large format retail properties are held in high regard with their defensive income and passive management. Retail assets of this calibre seldom become available.”
The property is fully leased to General Distributors Ltd, owned by Woolworths New Zealand, a subsidiary of the ASX-listed Woolworths Group. Woolworths New Zealand operate over 180 Countdown supermarkets nationwide, and Countdown is New Zealand’s largest private sector employer.
Thompson says that in this post-Covid climate, people are looking for safe haven investments with security of income.
“Being a supermarket, the property is underpinned by the non-cyclical and everyday needs of the grocery sector. This has been reinforced by the sector’s solid performance through various Covid 19 lockdowns and now high levels of inflation.”
Clark says Blenheim is a prosperous regional centre with GDP growth outstripping New Zealand’s GDP growth over the past two decades. Between 2001 and 2021 it recorded
annual average GDP growth of 3.9 per cent, compared to 2.6 per cent for New Zealand. It is a key service centre for the viticulture, aquaculture and forestry industries, and the main service centre and commercial hub for the Marlborough District which is home to approximately 51,000 people.
The Marlborough District has also consistently had one of the lowest unemployment rates in NZ, standing at just 2.5 per cent in 2021. In today’s post-Covid market, that rate could be significantly lower.
Making the district even more attractive is that house prices in Marlborough are approximately 25 per cent lower than the national average. Mortgage repayments as a proportion of household income are 37.1 per cent compared to 49.4 per cent nationally.
- Article supplied by Whillans
