Property fund manager Primewest, one of Perth's biggest landlords, is dipping back into the NSW retail market.
Primewest has made two recent acquisitions in Sydney's fringes picking up two Woolworths-anchored centres in Pemulwuy and West Ryde, from fellow fund manager Charter Hall.
The Pemulwuy Marketplace in Sydney’s west was secured for $35 million while West Ryde Marketplace was purchased for $56.5 million.
The acquisitions follow its recent purchase of the Spring Farm Shopping Centre south of Sydney for $34.75 million, bringing the total spend across the three assets to $126.5 million.
Primewest, founded by John Bond, the son of the late tycoon Alan Bond, currently has $4.5 billion of funds under management across an extensive portfolio of office, retail and industrial assets.
Its latest acquisitions will underscore the cash being made available to unlisted property funds by investors searching for steadfast yields through the economic downturn.
Bond noted it had seen a growing number of private investors and unlisted funds targeting supermarket anchored, non-discretionary shopping centres.
“Woolworths was the common denominator in all three of the recent retail acquisitions and was proving to be a very strong and reliable tenant,” Bond said.
“[Woolworths] features prominently in Primewest’s $1 billion retail assets portfolio which was spread across all major states with the majority of properties being defensive, 'daily needs' and convenience based centres.”
The Sydney shopping centres will now fall into Primewest's newly established $300 million fund which is targeting neighbourhood shopping centres across the country under a new institutional mandate.
Primewest has been active in NSW over the tail end of 2019 and has demonstrated an appetite for neighbourhood shopping space, focusing on non-discretionary retail assets.
Last year Primewest picked up the Tamworth Homespace, a large-format retail shopping centre 4 kilometres south of Tamworth's CBD, for $15 million.
Another retail acquisition announced late last year was Coffs Harbour's Moonee Marketplace, which Primewest bought for $30.5 million.
The 10,142sq m neighbourhood shopping centre, which is anchored by a Coles supermarket and includes a medical centre, childcare centre and swim school, is located 10 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour.