Savills : Maitland Hunter Mall Sold - $22.25m

Vicinity Centres has sold its Kmart-anchored sub-regional shopping centre in the Lower Hunter Region following an on market expression of interest campaign to a Private Investor.

The single-level Mall, located at 405 High Street, Maitland, comprises 12,625 square metres of building area on nearly 2.1 hectares of land, providing undercover and decked parking for some 655 cars.

The Centre was sold by Ben Stewart, Steven Lerche, Andrew Palmerand Pat De Mariaof Savills Retail Investments. Maitland Hunter Malls extensive tenancy profile, which includes Kmart, Best & Less and 20 specialty stores, boasts a weighted average lease expiry of 9.73 years by area - underpinned by a 15 year lease to Kmart - and an estimated fully leased net annual income of $1.825 million.

Mr Stewart said the sale, despite a large 1,910sq m vacancy, was well received in the market. We had over 200 enquiries, and multiple inspections with buyers excited about purchasing an asset with significant value-add potential as well as significant underlying land value.

'The property could not have been placed on the market at a better time with strong competition for well-located retail assets, the availability of secure lease covenants with long WALEs, and record low interest rates,' Mr Stewart said.

Mr Lerche said the Mall benefitted from sustained population growth in the main trade area over the last decade which had exceeded the non-metropolitan NSW average, while per capita retail spending in the main trade area - estimated at 2 percent higher - was also above the non-metropolitan NSW average.

'The sale reflects a premium to book value of 11.25%,' Mr Lerche said.