The sale of a popular Bunnings Warehouse site has set the internet alight after it was quietly snapped up for a cool $40.6million.
The warehouse, located in Shellharbour on the NSW South Coast, was bought by wealthy private investors offshore who were looking for a lucrative investment.
And, according to the team at commercial real estate agency, Costi Cohen, the enormous retail space will be just that.
‘It represents the largest Bunnings Warehouse to exchange hands in New South Wales in over three years and largest nationally since early 2023,’ the team announced.
‘The property occupies a highly strategic 32,000+ square metre site and offers 13,120 square metres of GLA [Gross Leasable Area].
‘The Bunnings opened in 2018 and offers outstanding security of income and tenure, offering a WALE [Weighted Average Lease Expiry] of ~6 years, with further extensive option periods to 2078.’
Tas Costi, the group’s director and co-founder, said the investor saw the long-term opportunities in the site immediately.
‘The strategic location, coupled with a high-quality tenant like Bunnings, provides a stable income stream and aligns perfectly with our client’s focus on assets that offer both security and future value,’ he said.
‘This acquisition highlights the continued appeal of well-located, premium-grade properties in Australia’s commercial landscape.’
Speaking to Real Commercial, Mr Costi claimed the Bunnings is ‘one of the best covenants and tenants in the country’ due to the attractive location.
‘Long term security, really strong growth and in terms of the location, it has got all the growth that’s happening in that immediate area with 19,500 homes that are being planned to be developed in West Dapto,’ he said.
‘It’s a rare sale, there’s not many investors that would be able to afford something like this you need a lot of cash, but if you’ve got the funds to have a great tenant like Bunnings it’s a great opportunity.’
Properties leased to the popular stores are a goldmine for investors, who are attracted to Bunnings’ ‘resilience’ and trustworthiness as a business.
‘If a private investor is weighing up spending $30million or $40million on a supermarket, a shopping centre or a freestanding Bunnings, I think investors lean towards Bunnings,’ real estate agency Burgess Rawson’s, Billy Holderhead, told Morning Star previously.
‘They’re large in scale, they’re really well located and everyone has an affinity with the business.’
An Australian icon, Bunnings was founded in 1886 and its first warehouse was opened in Sunshine, Melbourne in 1994 – the same year it was purchased by Wesfarmers.
Now firmly established as the leading retailer of home improvement and lifestyle products in Australia and New Zealand, it’s a go-to for DIY pros, tradespeople and sausage-sizzle fans across the nation.
The network of 513 locations includes warehouses, trade centres, Tool Kit Depot stores and Beaumont Tile stores, as well as 52,000 Bunnings Group team members.
