Herne Bay’s new supermarket for sale
Countdown’s newest metro-style supermarket in Auckland’s wealthy Herne Bay is up for sale.
The purpose-built Countdown Metro opened in June 2022 and is being marketed by Henry Thompson, of Whillans Realty Group, for sale by tender closing October 12.
The property is owned by a private investment partnership and has been developed on a prime
2342sq m, high-density freehold site on the corner of Jervois Rd and Kelmarna Ave, giving it approximately
125m of street frontage.
It delivers 1640sq m of rentable area and returns a net annual rental income of $1.47 million.
The property is fully leased to General Distributors Ltd, a subsidiary of the ASX-listed Woolworths Group. It is underpinned by a new 12-year lease to Countdown with rights of renewal out to 2074.
In addition to the turnover rent, the property has annual CPI+2 per cent rent reviews. These reviews are protected by a hard ratchet clause and capped at 2.5 per cent a year.
Countdown’s fourth metro-style store has been designed to appeal to its local upmarket community with 52 basement parking spaces of which two are EV charging stations, and five dedicated bike racks.
The store has a focus on quick eating options including a premium range of products like baristamade coffee, ready-to-go meals, fresh-made sandwiches, salads, health-focused snack options, takehome dinners and fresh pizzas made in store.
Thompson says supermarket properties are exceptionally strong investments, underpinned by the noncyclical and essential nature of grocery shopping.
“This has been reinforced by the sector’s solid performance through various Covid-19 lockdowns and now high levels of inflation.
“Given the size of the landholding, underlying highdensity zoning and position within Herne Bay, this property is truly irreplaceable.”
For these reasons, the store is likely to be highly attractive to intergenerational family trusts, high-networth private investors and fund managers, he says.
“As a brand new building, the property will require minimal maintenance and capital expenditure over the foreseeable future.”
He says Herne Bay is one of Auckland’s most exclusive and sought-after suburban retail precincts. The suburb’s median house price sits at $3.7 million and the proportion of residents earning over $150,000 annually is nearly six times greater than the Auckland region.
The suburb offers excellent proximity to public transport and the CBD. There are also a number of new high-density luxury residential developments recently completed and underway.
Jervois Rd is home to established cafes, restaurants and upmarket retailers which is driving two-way traffic between Countdown and these venues.
“In the last 18 months two new luxury apartment buildings have been completed on Jervois Rd, adding to foot traffic and retail spend in the immediate area.
“With the new residential intensification policies adopted by the Government, a significant portion of residential land in and around Herne Bay will allow infill housing, new terraced homes and apartments.
“This intensification will support future population growth along with the demand for food, beverage and groceries in Herne Bay.”