Groceries, Liquor And Medicines On The Shopping List As Retail Hub Goes Up For Sale

The land and building housing three high-demand retailing operations – two of which are aligned with national brands – have been placed on the market for sale.

The property in the centre of Waikato township Te Awamutu contains the town’s FreshChoice supermarket, a Bottle-O liquor store, and a large pharmacy, along with car parking for some 50 vehicles.

FreshChoice operates 32 sites nationwide. The brand is part of Woolworths New Zealand – a subsidiary of the publicly listed Australian company Woolworths Group Limited – with regional outlets such as the Te Awamutu store supported by four distribution centres, three processing plants and two support offices.

With a comparable national consumer exposure, The Bottle-O liquor retailing marque has more than 100 franchised stores throughout New Zealand.

Meanwhile, the third tenant in the Rewi Street block – Bargain Chemist – is fast spreading its operations New Zealand-wide. Since opening its first location in Christchurch in March 2018, the chain has grown considerably throughout the regions and now has 12 outlets – including the Te Awamutu pharmacy.

Sitting on some 4,504-square metres of flat land zoned commercial 8A under the Waipa District Council plan, the wedge-shaped property in Rewi Street features a 2,313-square metre building. Constructed in the 1980s, the L-shaped premises has a new building standards rating of between 67-79 percent.

The prime freehold land and building at 39 Rewi Street are now being jointly marketed for sale at auction on December 9 through Bayleys Hamilton and Bayleys Auckland. Salespeople Willem Brown and Ash Hira said the property benefitted from being adjacent to Te Awamutu’s main retail corridor in the central business district, Alexandra Street.

“The building’s construction format features a standard design and layout for a supermarket, liquor outlet, and retail pharmacy - with a wide frontage facing directly onto the shared car parking spaces and a covered walkway linking all three outlets,” Brown said.

“The three tenancies are complementary to each other, offering shoppers a gamut of standard retail solutions - from household products and groceries in the supermarket, and a substantial range of alcoholic beverages in the liquor outlet, through to medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and medicines from the chemist shop.”

“As befitting of a FreshChoice supermarket and Bottle-O outlet, the Rewi Street property has been maintained both internally and externally to an extremely high stand throughout its life. That was one of the reasons Bargain Chemist chose to join the location this year.”

Combined, the three tenancies within 39 Rewi Street generate net annual rental returns of $397,752 plus GST, and encompass:

• FreshChoice Te Awamutu on a current lease running through to 2023 with five further five-year rights of renewal occupying 1,605 square metres of space
• The Bottle-O Te Awamutu on a current lease running through to 2028 occupying 153 square metres of space and;
• Bargain Chemist on a current lease running through to 2030 with four further four-year rights of renewal occupying 555 square metres of space.

Hira said Government-imposed Covid-19 community movement restrictions had highlighted the value of supermarket and pharmacy tenancies in New Zealand society – particularly locations servicing rural populations such as Te Awamutu.

“Supermarket operations and pharmacies are classified by the Government as essential service providers – and rightfully so. The essential services provider classification has endorsed the attraction of this investment class – underpinned by nationally-branded tenants on long leases in a prime CBD location,” he said.

In addition to FreshChoice, Te Awamutu also has Countdown and Pak’nSave supermarkets, while there are multiple small independent liquor stores within the central business district. The 555-square metre Bargain Chemist outlet will be one of the biggest pharmacies in the township when complete.

“Te Awamutu – like Cambridge and Morrinsville elsewhere in the Waikato – is increasingly being seen by Hamilton and Waikato-centric property investors, as delivering better yields compared to Hamilton’s commercial and industrial zones with their higher land costs.” said Hira.

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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