Darlinghurst's Oxford Square retail centre listed with $70 million-plus hopes

Darlinghurst's tightly-held Oxford Square retail centre has been listed by a syndicate headed by veteran property developer Leon Fink with reported $70 million-plus hopes.

The low-rise Oxford Street complex site last traded in 1986 for $24.2 million when sold by the insurance company, The National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Limited.

The retail and commercial complex, built in 1969, had a 2005 renovation. It sits in the shadow of  the former Koala Travel Inn which was transformed into a 191-apartment residential project called Monument by Multiplex Living.

The fully leased retail centre earns $5.48 million in net income per year. The list of tenants in the building include Duffy Bros Supermarket, Liquorland, Chemist Warehouse, NAB, Fitness First and Deutscher & Hackett art auctioneers and gallery. The building is 100% leased.

Before outgoings, the gross rental income is $6.99 million per year.

Duffys Supermarket, on 1,425 square metres, alone attracts 1,600 customers a day to the complex located between Riley Street and Pelican Street in a densely populated area.

The commercial building on offer has a net lettable area of 12,088 square metres on its 5,446 square metre island site at 55-73 Oxford Street.

It has basement parking for 37 vehicles.

It is being sold by Jones Lang LaSalle agents Simon Rooney and Luke Harris.

According to JLL, the property has an established main trade area of 17,310 people which is set to increase with the addition of more residential developments.

Harris says the population of the area is forecast to grow 1.5%.

Marketing for property says the centre is in a high spending power catchment with main trade area income levels significantly higher than Sydney metropolitan benchmarks, on both a per household and per capita basis - 74% and 17% above the average, respectively.

The weighted average lease expiry in the centre is 5.65 years by area and 5.56 years by gross income.

The leases are generally structured over three year terms with some ranging between two and seven year terms. The leases have fixed 3.0% to 4.0% rent increase reviews as well as CPI reviews.

The outgoings for the 2014 financial year are forecast at $1,524,791 per annum - $126 per square metre.

Internally, the layout of the common mall forms an L shape with Duffy’s supermarket located near the Riley Street entrance.

Recent sales in the area include the Castle Hill Homemaker Centre, which sold for $19 million in February, the Supa Centa Tuggerah, which sold for $23.5 million in December, the Kings Cross Centre, which sold for $24.5 million in November, and the Centro Toormina, which sold for $65.5 million in December.

The expressions of interest campaign ends on May 9. Oxford Square Investments was the investment syndicate owned by the Fink and Birnbaum families.