Bit of know how and some can do

The PlaceMakers complex in Kerikeri will be auctioned.

With an annual rental of more than $500k this Kerikeri lot ticks many boxes.

One of the Far North's largest retail properties, the PlaceMakers complex in Kerikeri, will go under the hammer next week as part of a Bayleys Total Property auction.

David Bayley, executive director of Bayleys Real Estate, says the PlaceMakers sale represents an opportunity to secure a prime investment property in an affluent provincial growth area.

"This property at 26 Mill Lane, Kerikeri, has a 12-year lease to one of New Zealand's largest and most recognised companies with a strong business performance record," Bayley says. In conjunction with Chester Rendell of Bayleys Paihia office, Bayley is marketing the PlaceMakers for sale in Bayleys central Auckland auction rooms on Wednesday, April 9.

The 3360sq m hardware and building supplies store is on a large landholding of 2.2917ha and comprises a stand-alone, large-format retail store, constructed in the mid 2000s with a lease to Fletcher Distribution, trading as PlaceMakers.

In addition to the PlaceMakers building and 6766sq m of surrounding yards, included in the sale is a 202sq m three-bedroom house and an area of vacant land at the rear of the property.

The existing PlaceMakers lease, beginning in 2006 and running until 2018 with four rights of renewal taking it through until 2041, is producing net annual rental income of $546,695.

Bayley says one of the features of the lease which will appeal to investors is the guaranteed rental income growth from three-yearly rental adjustments based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index. The rent is also reviewed to market at each of the four lease renewal periods and cannot be less than the existing rent or greater than the annual rent payable in the previous 12 months, plus 10 per cent.

Bayley says the residential building and the 1.24ha block of vacant land at the back of the property are rented for $300 a week, plus GST, and also represent added value opportunities for investors.

"The land allows for future expansion of the PlaceMakers complex or further development of the site, while the house offers an opportunity for additional rental income."

The PlaceMakers building has a main retail area of 1312sq m, which specialises in the sale of home improvement products; a timber drive- though area of 1493sq m, offices and amenities totalling 415sq m and a 140sq m canopy.

Rendell says the building has been solidly constructed of tilt slab concrete and steel.

The property is on the fringe of the Kerikeri township about one kilometre from the town centre within the greater Mill Lane industrial area. This area comprises a compact grouping of predominantly industrial buildings ranging from lower-cost workshops to larger, more modern complexes, with the PlaceMakers complex being the biggest. It occupies just over 1ha on the front half of the site.

Kerikeri is the fastest growing area in the Far North, with a population increase of 10 per cent between the 2001 and 2006 Census to 5856 with further growth since then.

What's for sale

The property: Kerikeri PlaceMakers store.
Address: 26 Mill Lane, Kerikeri, Northland.
Sales method: By auction, Wednesday, April 9.
Venue: Bayleys' central Auckland auction rooms.
Features:
*Long lease to brand name retailer.
*Guaranteed rental income growth.
*Add-value potential.
*One kilometre from town centre.
*In Northland's fast growing area.