One of Auckland’s trendiest food and entertainment hubs sold this year for $75 million, OneRoof can reveal.
Sales records show the Queenstown-based Westwood Group bought Ponsonby Central in April in a deal brokered by Colliers agents Blair Peterken and Adam White.
The $75m sale price is the commercial real estate sector’s second biggest this year, eclipsed only by the $97m sale of 11.59 hectares of industrial land in Auckland’s Takanini.
Ponsonby Central is home to more than two dozen bars, restaurants and shops, as well as offices and a cinema.
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It was the brainchild of property developer Andy Davies, who transformed the former Allen’s Calendar Factory on the corner of Ponsonby Road and Brown Street into a one-stop shop for eating, drinking and shopping.
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Ponsonby Central was launched in 2012 and is now home to more than 20 eateries that together offer cuisines from a dozen countries, including Italy, Thailand, Argentina, France and Venezuela.
High-profile tenants at the 6727sqm site include Burger Burger, GAJA, Blue Breeze Inn, Bedford Soda & Liquor and Wallace Cotton.
The property also includes, at the rear, a modern six-level building, which comprises car parking, office space, the Silky Otter cinema and a penthouse apartment that was completed in 2021.
When it was listed in 2023, agents highlighted that it brought in more than $5m a year in net passing income.
Peterken told OneRoof at the time that Davies had spent more than 10 years developing Ponsonby Central but felt it was time to move on to new challenges.
Ponsonby Central outgoing owner and property developer Andy Davies in 2014. Photo / Dean Purcell
One of Ponsonby Central’s anchor tenants, Blue Breeze Inn. Photo / Babiche Martens, Viva
When the sale was announced earlier this year, Davies said he would use the money to invest in new developments.
“I am looking to complete some new projects and I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to tackle some different developments. It has been a great experience watching Ponsonby Central take shape and grow into one of central Auckland’s most popular shopping and dining precincts.”
The New Zealand Herald reported that Westwood owns Queenstown’s entertainment hub Steamer Wharf as well as various shops and offices in the town, including Malaghan House.
Tony Butson, a Westwood Group director, said the Ponsonby asset was a standout to add to existing holdings.
“The opportunity to purchase this property given its prominent location in one of Auckland’s most keenly sought suburbs was too good to pass up.
“There are considerable similarities between Ponsonby Central and Steamer Wharf in Queenstown so we believe we have plenty of expertise to help Ponsonby Central continue to evolve as a premier food and beverage and retail offering.”
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