Mackay’s Walkerston Shopping Centre offered to the market

Mackay, Australia – The Walkerston Shopping Centre, a fully-leased neighbourhood retail centre anchored by Woolworths in Mackay's fast-growing western corridor, is up for sale.

Located at 8 Creek Street in Walkerston, across the road from the Walkerston State School and St Johns Primary School, the modern single-level shopping centre comprises 3,266sq m of gross lettable area on a 10,980sq m site, with 157 on-grade car parks.

The asset is anchored by a 2,673sq m Woolworths supermarket and includes five speciality retailers, including Cellarbrations bottle shop, Walkerston Country Meats, the Walkerston library and several eateries.

Woolworths anchors the centre on a recently renewed five-year lease term to 2031 with three five-year options, trading well at $12,051/sqm and a 2% occ - nearing the percentage rent threshold.

The property is being taken to the market via an Expressions of Interest campaign run by Knight Frank's Jessica Coleman, Hayden Ryan and Craig Stack, in conjunction with CBRE's Joe Tynan, Michael Hedger and Mikaela O’Farrell on behalf of the vendor, Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) as trustee for the IREIT Sub Trust.

This is only the second time the property has been offered to the market since it was built in 2007, with IBA owning the asset since 2017.

Ms Coleman said Walkerston Shopping Centre was expected to attract strong interest from private investors and syndicators seeking to capitalise on a strong regional asset in a high-growth corridor.

“This asset offers a rare opportunity to acquire a dominant neighbourhood retail asset underpinned by strong tenancy fundamentals and population growth,” she said.

"Walkerston Shopping Centre occupies a strategic position on the Peak Downs Highway, the key transport corridor linking Mackay with the Bowen Basin mining region," she said.

"As the only supermarket servicing the Walkerston community, the centre provides an essential retail offering and benefits from a highly loyal and established customer base.

"The property is fully leased and anchored by Woolworths, delivering secure income backed by one of Australia's strongest supermarket operators, while also offering investors exposure to a growing regional Queensland market."

Mr Tynan said the centre's surrounding catchment was forecast to benefit from continued residential expansion, with several residential developments approved or currently under construction.

"Population growth across the immediate trade area is expected to underpin future demand and support the long-term performance of the asset," he said.

Complementing the Woolworths, is the Mackay Regional Council Library which acts as an additional consumer driver for the centre, with further activity created by the adjoining medical centre (not part of sale).

"Combined with strong household spending capacity, the centre is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from the ongoing growth of Walkerston and the broader Mackay region."

Mr Ryan said opportunities to acquire neighbourhood shopping centres of this scale and quality in regional Queensland were scarce.

"We continue to see strong buyer demand for convenience-based retail assets anchored by major national tenants, particularly in regional locations supported by population growth and strong economic drivers,” he said.

"Walkerston Shopping Centre is expected to appeal to a broad range of investors seeking a defensive retail investment with future growth potential."

The Expressions of Interest campaign for the property closes at 4pm (AEST) on Thursday, November 19.

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For further information, please contact:
Vanessa De Groot – Marketing & Communications, Knight Frank
Vanessa.degroot@au.knightfrank.com +61 410 460211

Notes to Editors
Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy. Headquartered in London, the Knight Frank network has 600+ offices across more than 50 territories and more than 20,000 people. The Group advises clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors, and corporate tenants. For further information about the Firm, please visit www.knightfrank.com.