Glenfield Mall, one of Auckland’s most established regional shopping centres and a cornerstone of Auckland’s affluent North Shore, has been formally brought to market by its owners, Ross and Dallas Pendergrast of Ladstone Holdings.
The opportunity to acquire a 100 per cent freehold interest in the 30,458 sq m centre represents a rare and significant retail investment opportunity that is expected to attract strong domestic and international buyer interest.
The property is being offered via an international expressions of interest campaign, closing Thursday May 21, managed by JLL’s retail investments team, led by Nick Willis, Sam Hatcher and Harry Fergusson.
Strategically positioned 8km north of Auckland’s CBD, Glenfield Mall occupies a commanding 4.5ha town centre landholding with three road frontages on Glenfield Rd, Downing St and Bentley Ave.
Start your property search
It is the dominant shopping centre and community hub across the vast residential catchment of 250,000 people in the total trade area and is anchored by a blue-chip tenant profile featuring Woolworths, The Warehouse, Farmers and Briscoes.
There are also four major bank branches and several high-performing mini-majors including Chemist Warehouse, Cotton On, Toyworld and 2-Dollar Things.
Willis, executive director of retail investments Australia and New Zealand at JLL, said: “We are witnessing a pronounced acceleration in capital appetite for New Zealand.
“As pricing tightens in the Australian market and yield compression narrows the window for accretive deployment, global capital – particularly from Australia, the United States and Asia-Pacific – is increasingly looking to New Zealand, often favoured for its compelling relative returns.
“Following the landmark sale of Manukau Supa Centa last year, which attracted deep competitive interest and marked Auckland’s largest retail transaction in over a decade, we expect Glenfield Mall to generate similarly strong engagement from the full scope of domestic and offshore investor groups.”
Over 75 per cent of Glenfield Mall’s specialty income is derived from everyday-needs convenience retailing – grocery, food and beverage, health and service-based uses – underpinning a resilient and defensive income profile.
The centre attracts strong visitations with foot traffic growing at over 2.1 per cent a year since December 2022.
Hatcher, head of retail investments Australia & New Zealand at JLL, added: “Opportunities to acquire a 100 per cent controlling interest in a regional shopping centre of this calibre in Auckland are exceptionally rare.
“Since 2010, only two other regional centres in the city have traded on a 100 per cent basis, creating a genuine scarcity premium that will see capital compete aggressively for this opportunity.
“What makes Glenfield Mall particularly compelling for incoming managers is the clear runway for income growth – with significant rental reversion potential across a tenant base that is already delivering strong productivity. This is a fortress market position with substantial future upside.”
Auckland’s North Shore is widely recognised as one of New Zealand’s most affluent and supply-constrained retail markets.
Average household incomes within the main trade area sit at $129,200, 8 per cent above the Auckland average, with a population skewed toward 25–45-year-old university-educated professionals.
Further, Glenfield Mall benefits from exceptional connectivity via the Northern Motorway (SH1) and proximity to the $313 million Northern Busway extension.
Fergusson, associate director of retail investments New Zealand at JLL, said: “Glenfield Mall is a true town centre icon – originally constructed in 1971 as Auckland’s first enclosed shopping centre on the North Shore, previously owned and redeveloped by Westfield and meticulously repositioned under a decade of dedicated private ownership since 2015.
“The centre’s 4.5ha landholding carries a Town Centre Zone designation permitting mixed use, with JLL analysis identifying the potential for up to 180,000 sq m of additional gross floor area, subject to council approvals.
“New Zealand’s investment framework further strengthens the proposition for both local and offshore capital – with no stamp duty, no capital gains tax and no land tax, the structural advantages relative to comparable markets across the Asia-Pacific are material and increasingly well understood by sophisticated investors.”
Under the private ownership stewardship since 2015, Glenfield Mall has undergone its most significant period of tenant remixing and capital investment, introducing over 40 new tenancies including Chemist Warehouse, Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr, Stirling Sports, Platypus, Lovisa, Kiwibank and Gloria Jean’s, while also installing Tesla Superchargers in 2023.
- Supplied by JLL
