Hobart Centre Sells in State’s Biggest Mall Deal

The $8.25-million sale of a retail centre south of the Hobart CBD has set a sales record for the Apple Isle.

Challenger Group sold the centre, Channel Court, to Adelaide-based Nick DiMauro as part of the former’s sell-down of retail assets to recycle capital into new ventures.

Channel Court, anchored by a full line Woolworths and Big W is the largest and only sub-regional centre south of the Tasmanian capital and comprises more than 25,000sq m, generating over $150 million in moving annual turnover.

Located in the growth corridor of Kingston, which has experienced an 11.8 per cent total population growth between 2016-2021, the centre has 84 speciality shops supported by local grocer Salamanca Fresh.

The Channel Court transaction was brokered by Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher from JLL after a formal expressions-of-interest campaign. 

The sale comes as transaction volumes in retail clock $1.8 billion as at June 30, in line with the prior year but 41 per cent down on the three-year average, according to JLL.

The reduction in transaction volumes is being attributed to the limited availability of investment supply.

Willis said the centre received broad interest, with seven formal bids received and “reaffirms the continued market demand for dominant convenience-based sub-regional centres”.

▲ The Channel Court sale has set a record for shopping mall transactions in Tasmania.

“We are continuing to see a shift in the weight of capital seeking these sub-regional assets both locally and offshore.

“The buyer profile continues to evolve, attracted to the sectors fundamentals and value propositions.”

In the prior four years (2020-2024) an accumulative 77 per cent of sub-regionals sold have been to syndicators and private investors, the prior four years to that (2019-2015) conversely 76 per cent was to institutional owners.

Hatcher said that this year “we have entered a phase of supply and investor demand imbalance in the sector, specifically in the sub-regional and large format retail sub-sectors where volumes are down approximately 13 per cent as at June 30, from the prior 12 months”.

“As major institutions enter the tail-end of their disposal programs and the fundamentals of the sector continue to improve globally, the sector is again receiving resounding positive engagement, driving renewed interest and competitive bidding.

“While the first half of the year has seen a significant reduction in available supply, we anticipate increased supply offering in the second half of the year.”