Petrol station premises fuels interest from property investors
The premises sustaining one of Auckland’s handful of city-fringe fuel stations have been placed on the market for sale.
The Gull Oil service station at 384 - 392 New North Road in Kingsland just a few hundred metres from Eden Park has been
pumping gas from the address for almost 20 years.
The property, but not the fuel retailing business, is now being marketed for sale by auction at 11am on May 16 through
Bayleys Auckland. Salespeople Stuart Bode and Mike Bradshaw said New North Road was a major arterial route linking
Symonds Street with the inner-western suburbs of Kingsland, Western Springs, Avondale and Blockhouse Bay.
“As one of the last – or first if you are coming from the opposite direction - fuel stops outside of Auckland’s Central
Business District, the New North Road Gull site is consistently busy throughout the day as it picks up commuters
travelling in both directions,” Mr Bode said.
“The Kingsland Gull site is the centerpiece of a retail automotive hub on New North Road which incorporates a VTNZ motor
vehicle testing premises, an AA Lube automotive repair shop, and a Beaurepaires tyre outlet. In addition the horse-shoe
shaped complex also sustains a Bottle ‘O branded liquor store and Subway convenience food operation.
“All of these peripheral and complimentary businesses drive trade to Gull because the hub is a one-stop-shop
destination,” Mr Bode said.
Gull Oil is now owned by parent company Caltex Australia, and has been a ‘disruptor’ amongst the established New Zealand
fuel brands since it burst on to the retail scene in this country in 1998 by offering low-cost petrol and diesel. Caltex
Australia claims to be Australia’s largest transport fuel supplier – with some 1900 sites
The Gull 15 year lease commenced in August 1999 and is now operating under its first five year right of renewal, with
four further five-year rights of renewal through to 2039. The lease currently generates an annual rental of $283,197
plus GST. Two-yearly rental increases are linked to the Consumer Price Index with an underwritten minimum of two percent
and a maximum of eight percent.
Within the Gull building is a subleased Night and Day mini-supermarket which adds to the ‘convenience’ factor of a ‘fuel
and food’ destination. There is parking for eight vehicles in front of the store.
The 288 square metre building was constructed in 1999 specifically as a Gull service station – complete with substantial
636 square metre canopy, multiple pumps, and underground petrol storage.
Mr Bradshaw said the rectangular-shaped property had two entry/exit points off New North Road, and sat on a unit title
share of 5,385 square metres of freehold land, zoned mixed use under Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan.
“The service station canopy is a fairly substantial structure built of conventional steel framing on six columns and is
clearly visible from the main road because of its height prominence,” Mr Bradshaw said.
The retail block containing the Gull/ Night and Day mini-supermarket unit is situated approximately 45 metres from the
road frontage, while the service station forecourt with its fuel pumps under canopy faces directly onto New North Road.
Mr Bradshaw said the main retail premises within the Gull complex was built on reinforced concrete foundations, with
pre-cast panel walls and steel framing supporting an iron roof laid on steel purlins.
He said the retail frontage featured extensive window glazing within aluminium joinery – with the rear of the premises
containing a small manager’s office, chiller storeroom, and staff lunchroom.
The dual Gull and Night and Day mini-supermarket retail outlets at the property are accessed via automatic sliding
double doors from the forecourt. Internally, the building’s walls are lined with ceramic tiles and a fully-suspended
ceiling, with a ceiling-mounted air conditioning unit and recessed fluorescent lighting contained in the ceiling cavity.
“This busy service station complex, with a prime street frontage in Kingsland and Gull/Caltex Australia as a tenant,
will generate considerable interest from investors,” Mr Bradshaw said.