Stake in Gold Coast Shopping Centre Sells for $185m

Boutique fund manager IP Generation has picked up a half stake in Westfield Helensvale shopping centre for $185 million as the growing investment management platform accelerates its exposure to what it considers mispriced retail assets.

The half stake in the Gold Coast mall was put on the market in June 2021 by Melbourne-based QIC Global Real Estate, which holds its interest in its flagship QIC Property Fund.

QIC’s property arm developed the sub-regional shopping centre alongside Westfield operator Scentre, which currently owns the remaining stake.

QIC Real Estate managing director Michael O’Brien said the sale, which was handled by CBRE’s head of retail capital markets Simon Rooney, was in line with its book value despite earlier reports suggesting it had listed the asset for $200 million.

“Not only does this divestment further showcase our ability to deliver successful transactions on behalf of investors, but also demonstrates that investors' confidence is returning to the broader retail sector,” O’Brien said.

“In alignment with our long-held fund strategies, we continue to execute on market opportunities which drive strong performance for our clients.”

Westfield Helensvale, about 19km north of Surfers Paradise, is on an underused 17.27ha site. The 45,000sq m shopping centre, which opened in 2005, is anchored by Woolworths, Coles and Aldi supermarkets. 

It also has discount department stores Target and Kmart, three mini-major tenancies between 600 and 1500sq m, 130 specialty tenancies and six mezzanine office tenancies.

It is next to the Helensvale station on the Brisbane-Gold Coast line and the Gold Coast Light Rail, with exposure to the M1 and Gold Coast Highway.

▲ IP Generation's first retail buy, the Corio Central shopping centre in Geelong.

The deal for the 45,000sq m shopping centre, which represents a yield of around 6.25 per cent, includes the purchase of a 9.6ha of surplus land around the mall.

The transaction continues a coming-of-age for IP Generation which was founded just four years ago by Chris Lock, previously the head of the Liberman family-backed Impact Investment Group. 

The group, which includes ARA Australia managing director David Blight as chair and former Scentre chief operating officer Greg Miles as a director, made its first foray into the retail property sector with the acquisition of the Coles and Woolworths-anchored Corio Village in Geelong, Victoria in late 2019.

The following March it purchased the Mildura Centre in Victoria's Sunraysia region.

Last year, the fund manager onboarded shopping centre veteran Greg Miles, who secured a co-ownership stake in the company while also shifting its mandate to “focus exclusively on retail property”, after clinching several mall deals over the past two years. 

The syndicator also swooped on a $300-million portfolio of neighbourhood malls in NSW put together over several decades by Sydney billionaire Paul Lederer and his late uncle Andrew.

The portfolio included Lederer Corrimal, Lederer Cessnock, Imperial Centre in Gosford, Richmond Mall, Goulburn Marketplace and Lederer Miranda in Sydney.