MELBOURNE SHOPPING CENTRE SELLS FOR $48m AS CHINESE DEMAND RAMPS UP

A MELBOURNE shopping centre has been sold for $48 million, bringing the total spent by Chinese investors on Victorian retail to $380 million over the past 15 months.

The Arena Shopping Centre, in the south-east suburb of Officer, is positioned on a 2.97 hectare site and features 25 speciality retailers, including McDonald's and Woolworths.

The centre generates an annual income of $2.65 million per annum.

The latest sale further demonstrates the demand for Victorian retail from Chinese investors and is indicative of a boom in the Melbourne's south-east according to CBRE's Mark Wizel.

"Only a few years ago, there were questions being raised around oversupply of retail centres in Pakenham itself but this part of Melbourne has just gone from strength to strength," says Wizel.

"If anything, there is a widely-accepted view in planning that more retail floor area is needed to service the booming population.

"The sale of the Arena Shopping Centre is a very strong statement for the overall confidence that buyers have for retail assets in Melbourne's south eastern corridor."

The sale of the Arena Shopping Centre dwarfs other recent retail sales in Melbourne.

The only other two sales by CBRE to come close to Arena's $48 million since 2015 were the Prince of Wales shopping centre in August 2015 and the Springhill Shopping Centre in December 2016 which sold for $44.5 million and $43 million respectively.

CBRE's Justin Dowers says the strong sales and high prices can be attributed to the limited supply of neighbourhood shopping centres being offered to the market.

"The limited supply of centres both in Victoria and nationally is ensuring those that do come to the market are achieving sharp yields," says Dowers.

"It appears many of the key retail institutional owners are looking to buy more stock as opposed to selling give or take some non-core assets."

Business News Australia