8 and 8A Cable Street, Sockburn
The land and buildings housing a traffic management company’s regional headquarters and an office equipment and
stationery supplies firm have been placed on the market for sale.
Encircled by two-metre high security wiring, half of the property at 8 and 8A Cable Street in the Christchurch suburb of
Sockburn is occupied by RTL – a national company which specialises in the provision of road traffic management signage
and directional systems ranging from high vis’ cones, signs and barriers through to fixed and moveable lighting signals.
In addition to the Sockburn location in Christchurch, RTL also has bases in Auckland, Wellington and Invercargill.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the Cable Street property is tenanted by National Express Products (NXP) Limited which sells
an extensive range office IT hardware, printers, furniture, and desktop accessories.
Both properties are zoned Commercial Mixed-Use under the Christchurch City Council plan – with neighbouring businesses
in and around the Cable Street area including a multitude of small light industry retail premises and operations
servicing the likes of the automotive sector and freight forwarding companies. The western arm of the Christchurch rail
line also runs along the back of the property.
Sockburn’s Commercial Mixed-Use zoning allows for commercial-related activities to be conducted in the area while
simultaneously enabling the growth of industrial-based activities.
The freehold land and buildings at 8 and 8A Cable Street are now being marketed for sale at auction on April 29 through
Bayleys Canterbury. Salesperson Murray Madgwick said there was the potential for owner-occupiers to take up one of the
buildings and continue leasing the other, or for investors to continue operating the property in its existing format.
Madgwick said that subject to council consents, there was also the potential to subdivide the two adjoining properties
into separate entities. Combined, the two properties on a single title consist of 3,480 square metres of buildings and
car parking for 33 vehicles sitting on 4,717 square metres of land.
Occupying the 1,175-square metre site at 8A Cable Street in a high-stud warehouse, RTL is on a current lease running
through to 2023, with three further two-year rights of renewal – currently generating annual net income of $103,250 with
a market review underway at present. Rental review provisions every two years are written into the current lease. The
property includes car parking for 23 vehicles.
Next door, occupying the 2,332-square metre site at 8 Cable Street, National Express Products (NXP) Limited is on
month-by-month lease generating an assessed annual income of $196,000. The property also features a high-stud warehouse
with two levels of office space and includes car parking for 10 vehicles.
Madgwick said a building upgrade programme designed to strengthen both premises to 67 percent of new build standards had
been completed on the 8 Cable Street building and is currently underway for its neighbour at 8A Cable Street building.
“In addition to undertaking the seismic compliance work, the building’s owner has also replaced the roof on the property
at 8 Cable Street, as well as all associated flashings, gutters and draining.
“A new parking area and street crossing have also been developed at the front of 8 Cable Street providing additional
sealed parking, and both buildings have been given a recent upgrade of the office space – encompassing new carpets and
painting, and some heat pumps,” he said.
“Both properties enjoy prominent street frontage onto Cable Street and are designed around the tenancy needs of
companies requiring good levels of warehousing space and smaller internally-connected portions of administrative office
space with staff amenities including lunchroom and bathrooms.
“Additionally, the building at 8 Cable Street has a high canopy structure extending from the building’s warehouse
entrance to the edge of the property - which enables loading and unloading of goods in all-weather conditions.”
Cable Street is located off Blenheim Road which provides a direct route both north and south to the Christchurch
motorway network, as well as a link to Christchurch International Airport, Lyttleton Port and the city centre. Madgwick
said this high degree of accessibility to the city was one of the reasons roading infrastructure company RTL operated
from the location.