Perron Group offloads Perth industrial facility to Westbridge Funds Management for $16.2m

Perron Group offloads Perth industrial facility to Westbridge Funds Management for $16.2m

23,176sqm site at 41-43 Baile Road, Canning Vale, Perth

The Western Australian industrial property market is showing signs of vitality after investment manager Westbridge Funds Management purchased a warehouse in Canning Vale, Perth for $16.21 million. 

Located roughly 19 kilometres south of the Perth CBD, the property at 41-43 Baile Road sits on a 23,176 sqm site, with 9,606 sqm of warehouse space and a 351 sqm office facility.  

The site is leased to Blackwoods, one of Australia’s leading suppliers of tools, safety gear, workwear and other industrial supplies, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wesfarmers (ASX: WES).

“The recent settlement of the Canning Vale property is a welcome addition to our Westbridge Diversified Fund No. 4 property portfolio,” Westbridge Funds Management chairman Damian Collins said.

“It fits within the Fund’s goal of building a $100 to $150 million portfolio featuring up to 12 high-quality commercial properties diversified by state, asset class and number of tenants.

“The strong covenant provided by the Wesfarmers subsidiary, coupled with the high underlying land value, makes this an excellent long-term investment.”

After attracting more than 10 bidders during the first round of offers, Perth-based Westbridge Funds Management acquired the upgraded warehouse logistics facility from the privately-owned Perron Group.

The Perron Group owns a diverse property investment portfolio comprising of retail shopping centres, commercial office buildings and unlisted airports, and is also the Toyota automotive and parts distributor for WA.

After a post-WWII Perth-based ice-skating rink and cold storage complex business failed, Perron Group founder Stan Perron pivoted to the earthmoving industry, becoming highly successful over two decades.

After selling the business, Perron moved into the commercial distribution of Toyota vehicles across the state. From selling a few hundred cars a year in the 1960's, the Perron motoring arm now distributes around 23,000 new Toyota vehicles annually.

After the passing of Perron in November 2018, the group’s business portfolio is now structured to provide substantial dividends to the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation in perpetuity.

The Perron Group has recently appointed current CFO Adam Irving as the next CEO, who is set to take over on 1 July following the retirement of 40-year veteran and present managing director and CEO Ross Robertson.

The Group announced a statutory profit of $337.7 million last November, following a loss of $304.1 million in FY2020.

On the other side of the country, the group recently began construction on a $1.5 billion 15-year building development on the Gold Coast last year - known as the SkyRidge project. The 342-hectare site is set to become a new suburb in the city’s west once complete.

The group received approval for a $1 billion development in Perth suburb of Cockburn in October 2021, partly financed by the sale of its 50 per cent share of the Runaway Bay Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast to Greenpool Capital in partnership with Qualitas, which also snapped up Vicinity Centres' (ASX: VCX) stake for $132 million in November.

Westbridge Funds Management

Westbridge Funds Management manages over $580 million of property through its funds. Over the past five years, its portfolio of commercial properties has achieved weighted average distributions of 10.3 per cent per annum.

According to Knight Frank’s Tom Iredell, who negotiated the deal, the commercial wealth investment company stands to benefit from a yield of 5.03 per cent, which will increase to 5.23 per cent with the February rent review and a short weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 4.28 years.

“It’s a well-presented and recently refurbished facility in a prime logistics location within proximity to Perth’s key transportation networks. It also has a strong lease covenant providing a secure, long-term income stream, so it was very appealing to buyers,” Iredell said.

“The Western Australian industrial investment market is seeing historic yield compression on the back of low-interest rates, the emergence of e-commerce, a well-performing mining industry and growing interstate investor appetite.

“The yield gap between Western Australia and the eastern states is causing increased institutional investment interest in Western Australian properties and secondary grade assets, driving yields lower for older style, sub $20 million properties such as this facility at Baile Road.”

The site is well serviced by Perth’s major road network, with Roe Highway and South Street linking the precinct to other key arterial roads, including Kwinana Freeway, Tonkin Highway and Leach Highway.

Get our daily business news

Sign up to our free email news updates.

 
Whitefox Recruitment founder Luke Hemmings making strides as a careers leader
Partner Content
After relocating his Canberra-founded company Whitefox Recruitment to the Gold Coast la...
Whitefox Recruitment
Advertisement

Related Stories

Vicinity's $1 billion turnaround signals retail recovery underway

Vicinity's $1 billion turnaround signals retail recovery underway

Shopping centre group Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) has recorded a $1...

Perron Group kicks off $1.5 billion mini city to tackle Gold Coast housing shortage

Perron Group kicks off $1.5 billion mini city to tackle Gold Coast housing shortage

Construction activity on the Gold Coast has been given a $1.5 bil...