Sentinel Secure 3 NSW Shopping Centres For $21.55m

Sentinel Property Group has settled the acquisition of three neighbourhood shopping centres in Bathurst, Narromine and Wellington in north-west NSW for a total of $21.55 million.

The three properties, all anchored by Coles Supermarkets, were acquired in one line from Charter Hall Retail REIT and the latest additions to the growing Sentinel Countrywide Retail Trust, which now comprises seven retail assets.

Sentinel Countrywide retail Trust, an open-ended pooled Trust launched by Sentinel last year, is focused on acquiring neighbourhood-style shopping centres in key regional locations. The three new properties in NSW join the Trust's two existing shopping centres in Emerald in QLD, and centres in Townsville QLD and Dubbo NSW.

The three new shopping centre acquisitions by Sentinel in NSW are Bathurst Chase Shopping Centre (Bathurst), Kierath's Shopping Square (Narromine), and Coles Wellington (Wellington).

Brisbane-based Sentinel has been one of Australia's most active private buyers of commercial property since it was established in 2010. These latest NSW acquisitions bring the company's total national property portfolio to 33 retail, industrial, office and land issues in QLD, NSW and VIC valued at in excess of $700 million.

More than 30% of Sentinel's total property holdings are now located outside of QLD, with NSW a major focus of the company's interstate expansion since it first entered that market in 2013.

[urbanRelatedPost][/urbanRelatedPost]Retail centres now account for in excess of 50% of Sentinel's total national property portfolio.

Sentinel Managing Director Warren Ebert said the company was pleased to be further expanding its retail property holdings as well as its presence in regional NSW.

“We have been active in securing properties in strategic regional centres of NSW and this is an area where we will continue to target new opportunities,” he said.

“Our latest acquisitions in Bathurst, Narromine and Wellington are an ideal fit for our proven buying and value-add strategy of securing well-established shopping centres, underpinned by major national retailers, in key regional hubs with multiple and diverse drivers of future economic growth.”

Mr Ebert said the investor capital raising for the latest NSW acquisitions closed over-subscribed within days of release, highlighting the continued ongoing demand from existing and new investors for Sentinel’s investment offerings.

“As well as diversifying the geographic spread of our property portfolio, we also have a fast-growing investor base, with more than 40% of our investors now from interstate and overseas,” he said.

“The returns on offer in unlisted commercial property trusts are compelling, given the current record low interest rate environment. Sentinel’s consistent delivery of double-digit returns across its portfolio continues to attract the attention of new investors, from high net worth individuals and SMSFs to larger institutions.”