THE TWEED Mall on Wharf Street is likely to sell to Sydney-based company Elanor Investors Group for an estimated $81.25 million with the deal likely to mean a bright future for the busy mall.
The Tweed Mall is situated on 23,032 square metres in the heart of Tweed Heads and has specialty stores alongside major retail chains including Target, Woolworths and Coles supermarkets.
The mall was previously owned by Vicinity Centres who have been selling centres in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Vicinity chief investment officer Michael O’Brien told News Corp reporters the divestment program would raise about $1.5 billion from the asset sales across 11 shopping centres.
“We continue to experience strong demand for retail assets and are pleased with the progress made to date on our asset divestment program,” he said.
Vicinity estimated the book value of Tweed Mall was $70 million at the end of June.
Elanor said the latest deal, on which the vendor has provided a two-year lease guarantee, showed a fully leased yield of 8.55 per cent. The listed Elanor last month raised $30 million and flagged plans to launch a listed retail real estate investment trust (REIT), which it this week said could accommodate the property. Financial analysists believe Elanor is hoping a new retail REIT can fill the gap created by consolidation in the listed sector.
The fund’s manager is on track to build up a $200m in the fund and list it by the end of this year.
The Weekly contacted Elanor Investors Group for comment and any future plans for the Tweed Mall, however the company’s media representative was unable to respond prior to the print deadline.
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