NZ Safety Blackwoods' new distribution centre, as at February 2025. This base is at Drury South in Auckland.
A list of the 10 largest non-residential property sales of last year’s second half was topped by a $66.5 million Drury real estate transaction.
Zoltan Moricz, executive director and research head at CBRE in Auckland, released the latest investment transaction monitor listing sales where the price was made public.
That showed a total value of 97 New Zealand non-residential sales in 2H24 totalled about $1.7b.
The monitor said 2H24’s largest sale where a price was declared was at Drury, in a transaction dated December 1, 2024.
Moricz said the top 10 list did not include the $180m planned sale of Precinct Properties' InterContinental Auckland hotel, announced on March 5.
CBRE’s top 10 list of 2H24 non-residential New Zealand sales where prices were declared follows.
Largest: $66.5m Drury South Crossing sale
Calder Stewart Development sold a Drury property on Jack Stevenson Rd to industrial wholesale investment specialist FortHill Property Fund.
This was the sale of an industrial property under construction by Calder Stewart. FortHill’s purchase is of the developed or finished asset. FortHill has associations with the vendor.
Calder Stewart is a long-term developer from the South Island, where it has an extensive Christchurch portfolio.
FortHill has been set up as a wholesale investment fund separate from Calder Stewart but associated.
Last month, the Herald reported on the NZ Safety Blackwoods new distribution centre, which Calder Stewart is developing at 22 Jack Stevenson Rd.
Sale date: December 1, 2024
Second largest: $63.7m Rolleston sale
Active Canterbury investors Andrew and Phillip Carter sold 32 Iport Dr, Rolleston to Private Land and Property Fund. Sale date: July 12, 2024.
That part of Rolleston is a fast-growing commercial hub where Costco Wholesale has been tipped to develop its second New Zealand store, although this has never been confirmed.
Industrial developer Carter Group’s Rolleston Industrial Holdings won approval from the council for a scheme that potentially tagged Costco as having a base there.
Third largest: $63.5m Māngere sale
Wine business Indevin Group sold 470 Oruarangi Rd, Māngere to Blackrock. This is part of the former Villa Maria estate, established by founder Sir George Fistonich.
In 2021, the Herald reported how Indevin had signed a conditional agreement to buy the vineyard land after owner FFWL was put into receivership by Rabobank and ANZ, owed nearly $212m.
NZX-listed Goodman Property Trust bought much of that estate, planning a $500m-plus warehouse and logistics hub.
Sale date: July 19, 2024.
Fourth largest: $58m Papakura sale
CBRE listed Fletcher Building as having sold 76-78 Hunua Rd, Papakura to a private investor, Bruce Miles. But CBRE also said that sale was as yet unconfirmed. Humes Papakura has its manufacturing plant at that address.
A Fletcher spokesman today confirmed the $58m transaction: “We have sold the land with a perpetually renewable ground lease.”
Sale date: November 1, 2024.
Fifth largest: $56m Ōtara sale
Private investor Quing Ye sold 291 East Tāmaki Rd, Ōtara to NZX-listed Argosy Property.
Argosy said in its FY25 result it had unconditionally bought the property and adjacent titles.
“This is a 4.6ha level site in a well-established industrial precinct, just 2km from State Highway 1. The initial purchase price and attendant capital works is $61 million, and the fully-let holding return is 4.8%. The site is currently 58% leased, with the balance expected to be leased up prior to settlement, in August 2025,” Argosy announced.
Sale date: December 16, 2024.
Sixth largest: $55m Wynyard Quarter sale
CBRE listed Orams Marine as selling a Wynyard Quarter property to NZX-listed Precinct Properties. Sale date: December 1, 2024. This transaction was reported last August, the announcement being contained in Precinct’s full-year financial result. The company plans to jointly develop a waterfront site with Orams.
Orams has long held plans to develop the waterfront sites it owns.
But its three new Beaumont St refit sheds upset the neighbours who filed High Court action against development. The neighbours lost and Orams built the new sheds.
But that’s only part of a wider plan for many more buildings on the land.
In 2022, chief executive Neven Barbour told the Herald how the business was ploughing $140m into a new hub and far more was to come.
Seventh largest: $51m Westgate sale
CBRE lists the company, 21 Fred Taylor Dr, as selling Bunnings Westgate to NZX-listed business Investore Property. Companies Office records show the vendor is wholly owned by Cook Property Trust and the sole director of Benjamin David Cook.
Bunnings Westgate opened in 2020.
In 2020, the Herald reported investor Ben Cook of Cook Property as buying that store and two other properties.
Cook declined to say then how much he paid, explaining he had entered commercially confidential agreements and was bound by them. However, market sources confirmed Bunnings Westgate had a market value of about $70m, Countdown Orewa about $30m and Countdown Aotea about $18m.
Sale date: August 22, 2024.
Eighth largest: $50.2m Kāpiti sale
Templeton Retail sold the Kāpiti Landing shopping centre to PropCo No3LP, CBRE said.
Colliers described Kāpiti Landing as a sprawling retail precinct, which in March 2020 was being offered for sale.
Sale date: September 13, 2024.
Ninth largest: $40.6m Christchurch sale
Eastgate Holdings sold the Eastgate Shopping Centre to Willis Bond for this sum. Sale date: October 29, 2024.
Tenth largest: $38.5m Waipuna sale
The Mt Wellington Licensing Trust Board sold the Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre in Auckland to Primeproperty Group.
The Herald has previously reported how that property is valued for rating purposes at $44m.
Sale date: September 1, 2024.
Could this be even larger?
No price was declared by NZX-listed Summerset Group when it bought the Hillary block of land at Belmont on the North Shore for a new village last year.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei sold the parcel in a deal giving it company shares and employment and education opportunities for the hapū.
The 5.7ha housing estate was once owned by the Royal New Zealand Navy but sold to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei last decade under its Treaty settlement.
Scott Scoullar, Summerset chief executive, said his company had bought the land outright.
That is different from what Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei did with Ryman Healthcare on the Wakakura block, where Ryman leased it long-term to that listed retirement business. That block is not far from Hillary, but nearer Devonport.
This transaction occurred in 2H24.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
Troubled property finally finds a buyer.