Brett Blundy buys Mornington Peninsula bulky goods centre
Retail entrepreneur Brett Blundy’s investment company has spent $44.5 million buying a bulky goods centre on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula from Mirvac. The sale was just below its most recent $45 million valuation as at December 2010. The acquisition follows Blundy’s purchase in February of the Caringbah Homemaker Centre in Sydney for $49 million.
With 32,000 square metres of gross lettable area, the property at 29 Mornington Peninsula includes tenants Clive Peeters, Lincraft, BCF, Snooze, Officeworks, Repco, Early Settler, Bed Shed, Retravision, Betta Electrical and Fernwood.
It has been bought by BB Retail Capital, a private investment company with interests in a number of global retail brands, bulky good shopping centres and equity investments. Brett Blundy established BB Retail Capital in 1980 when he opened his first retail store.
The Peninsula Lifestyle Centre is located on the corner of Nepean Highway and Bungower Road in Mornington, about 15 minutes south of the Frankston CBD.
The group’s largest acquisition was $61.5 million in 2008 for the Kotara Homemaker Centre in the district of Newcastle, one of the largest homemaker centres in the country at more than 61,000 square metres. The group had previously spent $17 million at Kotara in 2007.
The Savills valuation for Mirvac reflected a 9.75% cap rate.
The BB Group has seven major centres with a total value of more than $400 million. Its chief executive officer is Darren Holland, who has been with the group since 2004. Previously Holland played a role in the development and management of 13 Christie Homemaker centres throughout Australia.
“BBRC also owns the Cranbourne Homemaker Centre 25 kilometres away, so there will be good synergies in managing and promoting the two centres together,” Holland says.
