Afford offloads Henry Lawson Centre in Penrith for $24m

The sale of the suburban centre could result in a redevelopment in coming years.

Afford has sold the Henry Lawson Centre in Penrith for $24m

A Sydney-based property group has swooped on a retail centre in the western Sydney hub of Penrith, picking it up from disability accommodation and services group Afford for $24m.

The deal showed a sharp yield of just 4.6 per cent, but the shopping centre also has significant repositioning potential as the site has the potential for projects ranging from residential, to build-to-rent, student accommodation, co-living and other alternative uses.

The purchase added to the investment company’s portfolio, which is held across NSW, with a focus on Sydney’s suburbs, industry players said.

The sale of Henry Lawson Centre was brokered by CBRE’s James Douglas, Alex Mirzaian and Ben Wicks. They declined to comment on the buyer.

The centre at 61-79 Henry Street was sold by Afford as part of its ongoing sales strategy. It had bought it in 2008 for $16.495m, according to property records.

Mr Douglas said a broad mix of investors had pursued the Penrith CBD property, which is a 16,160sq m parcel near Penrith train station. The existing centre sports 12 homewares, office, medical and allied health tenants across 8841sq m as well as 170 on-grade carparking bays. “Investors were attracted by the existing centre’s strong investment fundamentals, with the asset providing a secure underlying cashflow at below-market rents,” Mr Douglas said.

He said the Henry Street property could be further developed in the longer term for build-to-sell, build-to-rent, student accommodation, or turned to other uses.

Mr Douglas said the site was well positioned to benefit from significant growth in the greater western Sydney area, one of the nation’s most significant emerging economic corridors.

Penrith will benefit from the under-construction Western Sydney International Airport, which is anticipated to reinforce the suburb’s role as a residential and employment hub. It is also backed by NSW government-led developments such as the Outer Sydney Orbital, Nepean Hospital upgrades and North-South Rail Line.