Waimauku supermarket for auction

The FreshChoice supermarket for sale in Factory Rd, Waimauku. Photo / Supplied

A property with a long-lease to a nationally-branded supermarket chain is for sale in Waimauku about 30kms northwest of Auckland City.

"This FreshChoice supermarket is an ideal bottom drawer, lock-it and leave-it, investment property," says Dave Lane, commercial sales and leasing agent for NAI Harcourts who, with colleague Peter Peeters, is marketing Unit A2, at 5-19 Factory Rd, Waimauku, for sale by auction at 1pm on Thursday, November 29, at the agency's North Shore auction room, 128 Hurstmere Rd, Takapuna – unless it sells earlier.

"The tenant, General Distributors Ltd, trading as FreshChoice, has waived a first right of refusal to purchase and has recently renewed a five-year term and negotiated two additional rights of renewal of five years each," Lane says. "The initial term of 10 years commenced on March 31, 2008. So, combined with the three five-year rights of renewal, this takes the potential final expiry date out to March 30, 2038."

"This provides the prospect of solid, long-term income security for a new owner with the lease terms indicating the tenant intends to remain on board in Waimauku for the long haul," Lane says.

The lease also provides for three-yearly market reviews with the next due on March 31, 2021.

Currently the stratum-in-freehold property earns $207,000 per annum net, plus outgoings, plus GST, with the tenant paying all outgoings including an annual body corporate levy of $34,887.

An aisle of products within the supermarket. Photo / Supplied

The property has a capital valuation of $3,275,000; comprising a land value of $810,000 and improvements value of $2,465,000.

Located within the Waimauku Shopping Centre, the site benefits from high traffic exposure having a frontage onto State Highway 16 which links Auckland to the main rural centres of Helensville and Wellsford.

"The supermarket is within the town's main commercial centre which it shares with a number of specialty retailers, cafes and takeaway outlets," Lane says.

"It's the only supermarket within the immediate area, with the nearest being about five kilometres away in Kumeu or Helensville.

"Waimauku was formerly a farming locality, but with the rapid expansion of Auckland's population in recent years, it now accommodates several wineries, a number of light industrial businesses, a garden centre and is an area of high residential growth with numerous lifestyle blocks and new housing subdivisions."

The modern FreshChoice Waimauku supermarket building was constructed in the early 2000s and has a gross net lettable area of about 1140sq m.

The complex comprises a main retail area of 774.9sq m, front office with amenities of 30.8sq m, rear warehouse of 60.6sq m, rear chiller and preparation rooms of 131.5sq m, a mezzanine level with amenities and storeroom of 125.5sq m, and a warehouse canopy of 16.8sq m.

The fit-out for the retail trading component of the premises comprises polished concrete flooring, high-stud suspended ceilings and suspended fluorescent lighting. A small office and toilet are also on the ground floor.

The preparation and storage areas, encompassing the chiller and stock storage spaces, are to the rear of the building. The 6.3m high-stud warehouse, located in the southeastern corner of the property, allows goods delivery access via a steel roller door and shared secure yard.

The mezzanine level houses office space, amenities and a plant room with fit-out including carpet flooring, plasterboard lined partitioning, and suspended ceilings with recessed fluorescent lighting.

"The supermarket has ample visitor parking with close to 100 car parks in front of or near the supermarket and more within the adjoining Waimauku shopping centre complex," Lane says.

"The building construction appears to be concrete tilt slab and corrugated iron walls with long-run roofing - durable materials that make for a low-maintenance, stress-free building that investors look for."

Peeters says the property is zoned Business Local Centre Zone – a zoning which is applied to a number of small town centres throughout Auckland.

"The centres are generally located in areas of good public transport with the zoning primarily designed to provide for the local convenience needs of surrounding residential areas, including local retail, commercial services, offices, food and beverage, and appropriately scaled

supermarkets.

'Large-scale commercial activity requires assessment to ensure that a mix of activities within the local centre is enabled and buildings must not exceed the height in metres specified for the centre. In the case of Waimauku, the height variation control for new developments is 13 metres."

Peeters say the value of the strong tenant covenant adds considerable value to the property as an investment proposition.

"Established in 1985, General Distributors Ltd has been serving New Zealanders for more than 80 years with store names including Countdown, Foodtown, Woolworths, Price Chopper, 3 Guys, Big Fresh, SuperValue and FreshChoice.

"Today, they are known as Countdown, and serve over 2.5 million Kiwis each week through their supermarkets."

He says the tenant holding company is Woolworths Group Ltd and FreshChoice supermarkets are all locally owned and operated with stores across New Zealand including Christchurch, Auckland, Queenstown and Dunedin.

Waimauku has become a lifestyle location for many Aucklanders escaping city stress, with nearby tourist attractions including the Muriwai gannet colony, Muriwai Beach, Bethells Beach, the Woodhill Mountain Bike Park which is also popular with hikers and off-road motor cyclists; and the Waitakere Ranges including the picturesque Mokoroa Falls.

Popular wine tasting and hospitality venues around Waimauku include the Hunting Lodge Winery and Restaurant, Coopers Creek Vineyard, Twin Totara Wines, West Brook Winery, Kumeu River Wines, Soljans Estate Winery, Kerr Farm Wine, Gracehill Vineyard and Markovina Vineyard Estate.

A short drive from Waimauku is the historic 160-year old Riverhead Tavern, at the head of the Waitemata Harbour, thought to be the oldest riverside tavern in New Zealand and holding the country's second oldest liquor licence.

Popular restaurants in the locale include The Tasting Shed, Hallertau Brewery and Restaurant, the Gamekeepers Restaurant and Bar, and Carriages Cafe featuring dining within old railway carriages

A new railway station platform was built at Waimauku with services on the Western Line between Auckland and Helensville commencing in July 2008, but the service was discontinued because of low passenger numbers. Waimauku was also a stop on the North Auckland line between Westfield Junction in Auckland and Opua in Northland with regular operations suspended since 2001.

With a burgeoning population in recent years in Waimauku and the nearby towns of Kumeu and Huapai, there are calls for rail services to be commence again and the reopening of the North Auckland Line is reported to be under review as part of KiwiRail's turnaround plan.