Vicinity Centres buys $385m half stake in Gold Coast Harbour Town outlet shopping centre

A multi-billion dollar group has confirmed its buying half of one of the Gold Coast’s most popular shopping centres - for more than $350 million.

VICINITY Centres, a multi-billion dollar group, has confirmed it is buying a half stake in Harbour Town at Biggera Waters and has revealed it is paying $358 million.

The deal was revealed exclusively in the Bulletin yesterday and Vicinity announced it to the ASX yesterday Tuesday).

Vicinity CEO Grant Kelley said the deal reflected his group’s strategy of investing in premium retail assets where it could buy well and add value.

Vicinity expects a 5 per cent yield on its investment.

Shoppers at Harbour Town on the Gold Coast. Picture: Mike Burton

The stake in what today trades as Harbour Town Premium Outlets was put on the market in July by the Australian Prime Property Fund.

CBRE’s Simon Rooney, who negotiated the sale in conjunction with McVay Real Estate, yesterday said an expressions of interest campaign for the holding was hotly contested.

He said it drew Australian and offshore institutions, along with property syndicates.

“Harbour Town Premium Outlets represented an opportunity to acquire immediate scale in highly sought after but rarely traded sub-sector.”

Lendlease has managed the APPF stake in the centre.

Vicinity, which owns half of the Runaway Bay shopping centre, will own Harbour Town in tandem with Lewis Land, which opened the centre in 1999.

Vicinity said Lewis would continue to manage Harbour Town, while it would handle leasing.

Earlier

A national shopping centre giant has cemented a megabucks deal to buy a half stake in the Gold Coast’s Harbour Town outlet mall, it’s believed.

The purchase by Vicinity Centres – which is an $8 billion behemoth - off Australian Prime Property Fund is reportedly at a figure that exceeds $340 million.

The sale of the Biggera Waters holding, if confirmed, will be the biggest retail transaction recorded on the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast’s Harbour Town from the air. Picture: Nigel Hallett

That record might not last for long. Pacific Fair at Broadbeach is on the market and is tipped to bring around $1.8bn.

Vicinity Centres owns a half stake in the Runaway Bay shopping centre, with the other 50 per cent changing hands for $128m last week when the Perron Group exited its investment.

The agents handling the sell-off of the Harbour Town holding, CBRE’s Simon Rooney and McVay Real Estate’s Dan and Sam McVay, could not be contacted on Monday.

The expansive centre, spread over 22.3ha, was developed by Lewis Land and opened in 1999 as Australia’s first purpose-built outlet shopping centre.

It has Woolworths and Reading Cinemas as anchor tenants, more than 200 other tenants, and parking for in excess of 3000 cars.

Lewis Land, developer of the Sovereign Islands at Paradise Point, retains a half share in Harbour Town.