Almost $44 million of Queensland property was snapped up by investors from around the country with a Bunnings warehouse scoring the top sale price

Almost $44 million worth of Queensland property has sold under the hammer with investors scrambling for risk-free assets.

Bunnings Lawnton which sold for $18.86 million.

A NEW Bunnings warehouse north of Brisbane was the star performer at an auction that sold almost $44 million of Queensland assets under the hammer.

A Sydney-based private investor paid $18.86 million for the De Luca developed and owned Bunnings 727 Gympie Rd, Lawnton, in a deal that realised a 4.69 per cent yield.

De Luca bought the almost 20-year-old Bunnings for $7.8 million and in June opened a brand new 8000sq m Bunnings with the retailer committing to a 10-year lease with options.

De Luca managing director Nic De Luca said it was a “knock down and rebuild” play and the recent sale of its Bunnings Kingaroy for $14.55 million on a 5.5 per cent yield convinced him to sell the new Lawnton warehouse via a Burgess Rawson auction.

Bunnings Lawnton which sold for $18.86m

“We’ve never sold anything through an auction campaign before so it was a bit of a leap of faith for us. But the result shows the strength of the Bunnings covenant,” he said.

Mr De Luca said his family-owned company was currently bolstering its development war chest.

“We have the opportunity to divest good assets at sharp yields and redeploy our capital back into land ready for the next cycle,” he said.

This week Burgess Rawson sold eight Queensland assets under the hammer. They were:

● Bunnings Warehouse, 727 Gympie Rd, Lawnton — $18.86m (4.69 per cent yield);

● Mackay Funerals, 189 Alfred St, Mackay — $1.7m (6.29pc);

● Walkerston Daycare Centre, 22 Creek St, Mackay — $1.97m (8.58pc);

● Only About Childcare, 1035 Rode Rd, McDowall — $4.545m (5.5pc);

● NAPA Auto Services, 60 Moss St, Slacks Creek — $11.7m (6.61pc);

● NAB, 143 Patrick St, Laidley — $610,000 (8.09pc);

● Caltex service station, 8 University Rd, Townsville — $2.305m (8.33pc);

● Lenards Chickens warehouse, 14 Tombo St, Capalaba — $2.1m (7.33pc)

Burgess Rawson’s Glen Conridge after the Bunnings sale another standout result was Mackay Funerals.

He said the property attracted 15 registered bidders underpinning that the funeral business is considered as stable an industry as any tenant covenant in commercial investment property

“We have auctioned several funeral homes over the last few years and always have attracted great interest and achieved very tight yields for this asset class,” he said.

Mr Conridge said leased to Invocare on a renewed 10-year lease plus two 10-year options the tenant profile was a major attraction,

“Invocare own throughout Australia and Asia 290 funeral outlets including well known operators Simplicity Funerals and White Lady Funerals, and has a market cap of $1.7bn on the ASX,” he said.

“The tenant has been established since 1881 and located in this property since the 1970s, fully rebuilding in the 1990s and fully refurbishing the building last year.”