Convenience and fuel retailer billionaire Russell Withers’ 7-Eleven group will sell 15 key properties around the country in a one-day auction extravaganza that may net the business $70 million.
The prominent 7-Eleven sites will be sold by portfolio auction specialists Burgess Rawson at live-linked events in Sydney and Melbourne on the last Wednesday in October.
They include a 7-Eleven leased fuel site at Clyde on Sydney’s Parramatta Road likely to fetch around $3 million, another with a drive-through McDonald’s sublease in Campbellfield on Melbourne’s northern outskirts that is expected to net $7 million, and a prominent site in Canberra’s Braddon which is likely to sell for around $5.3 million.
Other sites in Mornington, Rockbank, Croydon and Ferntree Gully in Melbourne, Seven Hills, Colyton, Liverpool, Toongabbie and St Marys in Sydney, Holt in Canberra, Ellenbrook in Perth and Marks Point in Newcastle are also on the block.
7-Eleven controls about 38 per cent of Australia’s fuel and convenience market through its network of 700 corporate and franchise outlets.
The group’s head of property Jimmy Mouzakiotis said the divestment would free up capital for 7-Eleven to reinvest in its expansion – it’s adding around 30 stores annually.
The group also has plans to upgrade 293 stores across its network, roll out a parcel locker service across 400 stores and has earmarked 13 fuel infrastructure upgrades this financial year, he said.
7-Eleven will be competing for commercial real estate investors with fuel giant Caltex which, after telling investors a few weeks ago it would sell a tranche of 50 fuel outlets, has just put the first half of them up for sale.
If sold in one line, Caltex’s petrol stations and convenience stores are likely to fetch about $120 million. Primarily on high-value city sites, they are targeted at property developers as well as investors.
The 16 NSW servos, seven in Victoria, one in WA and another on the Gold Coast are mostly located on corner land-holdings ranging in size from 1200 to 2500 sq m.
Burgess Rawson’s Billy Holderhead said comparatively few service stations had been offered for sale recently, with Sydney in particular being “completely starved” over the past year.
“Interest rates are at record lows and there is an urgency from investors in the market to park their money safely,” he said.
7-Eleven’s 15 properties have 12-year leases on sought-after net lease terms – the retailer pays rates, repairs, maintenance, building and public liability insurance.
Extracted from The Sydney Morning Herald