Highly sought after: The site at 92-94 Vicars Street, Mitchell. Photo: RWC Canberra.
A Mitchell property occupied by Bunnings Warehouse for the past 20 years has sold for $7.2 million to an unnamed Sydney-based investor with future owner-occupier intentions.
The 5497 sqm Mitchell Trades Centre site at 92-94 Vicars Street includes about 2000 sqm of gross floor area (GFA).
Frank Giorgi from Ray White Commercial Canberra brokered the off-market deal.
He said the highly sought-after industrial property site’s low site coverage – less than 40 per cent – enhanced its appeal, with land-rich industrial holdings like this in increasingly short supply across the ACT.
The result was much higher than expected because it was a great block of land on which new buildings could be added.
“That’s why we did receive that price, and a buyer who can potentially use the site for themselves in years to come if Bunnings ever vacates. Or if Bunnings stays on, who doesn’t want Bunnings as a long-term tenant? There were a lot of positives for this buyer,” Mr Giorgi said.
“It was like sort of a perfect storm finding the one buyer who would pay that premium.”
The lease included one remaining option period for Bunnings, offering ongoing income certainty while also providing flexibility for the buyer’s long-term plans.
“This asset represents the ideal blend of security and opportunity,” Mr Giorgi said.
“Bunnings has been a long-standing tenant on this site for two decades, and with one option period remaining, the buyer gains both reliable holding income and future upside through potential occupation or redevelopment.”
Mr Giorgi said industrial properties with excess land and national tenants continued to be the most tightly contested in the market.
“This result demonstrates the premium placed on sites that combine location, lease covenant, and long-term development potential,” he said.
Mr Giorgi approached the private ACT-based vendor on behalf of the purchaser, with no formal marketing campaign undertaken.
The off-market nature of the sale further underscored strong investor appetite for blue-chip industrial assets in Canberra.
Mr Giorgi said Sydney buyers saw great value in Canberra.
“They just said if they were to buy that site in Sydney, it would cost three times as much,” he said.
“They just think, Canberra’s a really good investment.”
Mr Giorgi said privately held, blue chip ACT sites such as Bunnings, service stations and fast food sites were very rare sales in the ACT and didn’t change hands much.
He said RWC Canberra achieved another significant result eight months ago, selling the 7-Eleven and KFC site in Fyshwick for $20.2 million.
“This was another landmark sale. They don’t come up too often. It’s usually owners hitting a certain age or families wanting to break up partnerships and go their separate ways,” he said.
“That’s the only time these things are selling, so the premium is for established sites.”
The result was not a record for Mitchell, but it was for the square metre rate for the land.
