Blenheim Mitre 10 eyes move

The Mitre 10 Mega building in Blenheim is for sale.

The 10-year-old building on Alabama Rd has a 15-year lease period with three rights of renewal of five years. It is being marketed by international investment managers JLL.

JLL Auckland agent John Binning said the sale of the 9986-square-metre building, built in 2007 on a 18,608sqm site, would suit an investor seeking a longterm investment with a secure, passive income stream.

‘‘It is a good building and a good tenant,’’ he said.

The sale included a cafe, a garden centre, and car parking for 200 vehicles.

The site, situated in a mixed residential and rural lifestyle area 2 kilometres from Blenheim’s central business district, had a final lease expiry in 2037.

Rent reviews were every three years. Net rental was $1.08 million annually, plus GST and operating expenses, Binning said.

Building owner Barry Walters said there had been a lot of interest in the sale from both international and domestic buyers.

‘‘It is an excellent building and a safe investment in one of the country’s most desirable destinations,’’ he said.

Bayleys Marlborough commercial agent Grant Baxter said the site was originally part of a portfolio of properties around New Zealand owned by Walters, some of which had been sold.

Walters also owned the Portage Resort Hotel in the Marlborough Sounds, and Timara Lodge, 14km from Blenheim.

The land and buildings were put on the market in 2010 by Mitre 10 business owner David Hawtin.

Hawtin retained the lease after selling the land and buildings to Walters in 2011 for $11.9m.

It was ‘‘likely’’ Mitre 10 Mega would relocate to a new purposebuilt site by 2022 when the business lease expired, Hawtin said.

‘‘It is most likely we will have moved as this building will not meet our requirements by then.’’

Mitre 10 Mega would remain in Blenheim, he said.