Property investors buzzing as honey warehouse up for sale

The land and building housing the regional operations for one of New Zealand’s premier honey harvesting and retail companies has been placed on the market for sale.

The substantial site in the Waikato township of Te Awamutu features a 1,885-square metre building sitting on 5,226 square metres of freehold land zoned commercial 8A. The modern warehousing and administrative premises at 249 Bruce Berquist Drive is located in the heart of Te Awamutu’s industrial precinct – a wedge of properties between Bond Road and Te Rahu Road.

Leading New Zealand native honey harvesting and retail brand Manuka Honey occupies the rear 1,125-square metre portion of the building premises. The remaining 600 square metres of high-stud warehousing and 160 square metres of office space at the front of the property are currently vacant.

Manuka Health New Zealand Limited is currently on a lease running through to 2023 with a further 30-month right of renewal, generating annual net rental of $126,000 plus GST and operating expenses.

The freehold land and buildings at 249 Bruce Berquist Drive are now being marketed for sale at auction on September 16 through Bayleys Hamilton. Salesperson Josh Smith said the property was eminently suitable for either an owner-occupier wanting ready-to-move-in premises, or an investor looking to tenant the empty portion of the location.

“The vacant portion of the property is supported by substantial sealed parking for seven vehicles immediately in front of the street-facing office space, with room for another three vehicles on the yard around the side of the adjoining warehouse,” he said.

“The property’s vacant office space is a modern single-level structure containing a reception space, an open-plan work area, stereotypical private offices, staff kitchen, and staff bathroom amenities - all connecting to the main warehouse floor to the rear. The property is surrounded by secure wire fencing.

“Leasing market data analysis and comparison of similar sized and situated industrial warehousing and office locations in Te Awamutu show a new owner of the Bruce Berquist Drive property could expect to derive $104,000 per annum from the currently vacant portion of the address.”

The rectangular-shaped property is zoned commercial 8A under the Waipa District Council plan, and is surrounded by similar industrial tenancies including a bus depot, several automotive repair and maintenance workshops, various farm product depots, animal husbandry companies, and civil works yards. The core of the building was constructed some 11 years ago, and was further added to over the intervening years as its tenants’ activities expanded,

Smith said the site owner of 248 Bruce Berquist Drive and Bayleys Hamilton had been approached over the past month by several parties expressing their strong interests to lease the currently vacant portion of the Te Awamutu premises.

“At this stage, the front portion of office and warehousing space is being sold vacant as there is every possibility it will be bought by an owner-operator looking for industrial premises in a market and location where there is very little such stock of that type and size available to choose from. Demand is high and choices are few and far between,” he said.

“Should the property be purchased by an investor, both the owner and Bayleys will forward on the contact details for those parties interested in leasing the vacant space, and we would be confident of tenanting the site in a very short time frame. The vendor would certainly look at negotiating a suitable transaction settlement date that would allow for such new lease discussions to be held over the intervening period.

“Te Awamutu – like Cambridge and Morrinsville elsewhere in the Waikato – is increasingly being seen by Hamilton and Waikato-centric firms, as a more cost-effective provincial location in which to be operating from compared to suburban Hamilton zones with their higher land costs and greater traffic congestion,” said Smith.

Located some 30 kilometres south of Hamilton directly on State Highway 3, Te Awamutu has a population of approximately 12,000 residents.

Click here for more information on the listing.

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