Auctions of properties containing bottle shops are attracting huge bids as investors seek COVID-proof assets.
A Dan Murphy’s store on Military Road in Mosman, Sydney, sold for $13.25 million at Burgess Rawson’s September portfolio auction.
The listing agent received 278 inquiries and record-breaking web traffic during the campaign.
Burgess Rawson’s Darren Beehag said the result was due to a combination of the property being only three years old and located in Mosman, plus having 12 years to run on a 15-year lease.
He told Commercial Property interest came from investors wanting to move their money out of term deposits, which have been returning record-low rates.
“There’s a lot of money out there that’s trying to find a home,” Beehag said.
“I would say that COVID has shown that supermarkets and liquor stores have been incredibly resilient.”
New data from IRI shows total liquor sales are up more than 10% over the latest 12 months, while in the quarter to August 9 they’ve skyrocketed by more than 28%.
Queensland & Victoria sales strong
A drive-through bottle shop and attached hotel in Ingham, in North Queensland and leased to ALH Group’s BWS, also attracted strong bids at the auction.
The property, leased to BWS on a 15-year lease to 2034 with options to 2084, sold for $1,965,000.
A bottle shop in south Sydney’s Woronora Heights, leased to Porters Liquor until 2027 and generating $33,484 a year, sold prior to auction for $575,000.
In Melbourne, a Dan Murphy’s in Wangaratta has sold for $8.1 million.
“The property sold in just six days,” Burgess Rawson director Billy Holderhead said.
“In that time, we introduced the property to seven investors, three of whom submitted executed contracts above the asking price for the vendor’s consideration.”
