186 Australian petrol stations set for completion in 2019: CBRE

Despite continued headwinds about electric vehicles entering the mainstream private car market, there has been a strong development pipeline of new petrol stations across Australia, according to a recent report from CBRE.

A new CBRE market review highlighted that 186 new petrol stations will be built nationally over the next 12 months, including 38 in Western Australia.

CBRE’s WA petrol station specialist Anthony Del Borrello said that the development supply pipeline was being driven by Perth’s changing road networks and strengthening investor demand.

Mr Del Borrello said, "service stations present a compelling investment opportunity, based on their strong tenancy profiles – anchored by national operators such as 7-Eleven, Caltex and Viva Energy – and long leases.”

“These tenants are at the forefront of the emerging electric car industry and their confidence in the long-term expansion of their existing network in WA is providing investors the confidence that there will be no market disruption in the medium term.”

The report notes, over the past six months, more than $62 million of petrol station investments sold across Western Australia, with tenancies including 7-Eleven, Caltex and Coles Express resulting in an average yield of 6.2%.

In WA, 38 petrol stations are mooted this year, with an additional 26 earmarked for construction across the state in 2020.

While the proportion of electric vehicles in production in Australia is expected to reach 50% by the 2030s, translating to less than 14% of cars being electric, there will be a continued need for petrol filling stations into the future.

BP Sawyers Valley is one of the latest service stations to hit the WA market.

Completed in June this year, the 5,295 sqm property is anchored by a 15-year lease to Epic Petroleum (with additional options).

The property is situated on the corner of Great Eastern Highway and Sawyers Road.

“This property represents the first BP service station to be offered for sale in Perth in at least three and a half years. On the back of continued momentum in the service station investment market, the opportunity to acquire this long-leased asset is expected to generate competitive buyer interest,” Mr Del Borrello added.

WA service station transactions between June 2018 – June 2019: