Wingate Direct Property Acquires Prominent Freeway Holding for $32m

Investment House Wingate is ramping up its new direct property platform business with the acquisition of the prominent Westgate Freeway Service Centre, located just 3km west of Melbourne’s CBD at 62 Cook Street Port Melbourne, for a purchase price of $32.12 million.

The multi-store convenience complex houses a Shell Service Station with accompanying Coles Express in addition to drive through Hungry Jacks and Red Rooster tenancies.

The property boasts a 9-year WALE (Weighted Average Lease Expiry) at acquisition and allows potential for investment upside through the implementation of active leasing and asset management strategies.

The acquisition anchors the recently established Wingate Direct Property platform, a dedicated business unit focused on equity investments in commercial property on behalf on the Wingate co-investor network.

“Wingate Direct Property has been established to focus on sourcing and acquiring ‘core plus’ investment opportunities, where we can increase underlying value through active management of the property and deliver superior returns to our co-investors,” said Daniel Farley, Executive Director and Head of Wingate Direct Property.

“Port Melbourne is the first of two investments we are completing this month – we are seeing strong demand for these types of quality assets in an environment where many are searching for yield. This acquisition allows reliable robust distributions, commencing at 7 per cent, against quality covenants.

The contracted leases are also subject to fixed annual increases which is a huge positive for investors seeking solid returns on strong downside risk protection. Further, the gentrifying Fishermans Bend precinct, where the property is located, is expected to benefit from a huge amount of infrastructure investment and population growth over coming years”.

The sale, which transacted on a passing yield of 4.8 per cent, was brokered by Chris Jones of Dawkins Occhiuto.

Mark Harrison, Managing Director of Wingate Property, added that the addition of the Port Melbourne property was the latest in series of investments across 2021 including the joint venture at West Melbourne with Perri Projects.

“Our focused approach into direct property investments is a complement to our longstanding track record in property debt.”

“The market has been incredibly active and Wingate has been well-positioned to capitalise on these investment opportunities.

While we have had some recent activity in Melbourne, including the logistics hub in West Melbourne and an office building in Moorabbin, the Wingate pipeline is as strong as it has ever been in a national sense with further investments slated in NSW, QLD and WA.”

Watch our exclusive interview with Mark Harrison here.