Property investors set to put offers on the table as home furnishings premises goes up for sale

The land and buildings housing a ‘big box’ home furnishings store in Thames are on the market for sale.

The high-stud property, at 205 Sealey St, is home to Baxters Interiors, which has been retailing home furnishings for some 40 years.

Housed in what was once a supermarket built in the 1970s, Baxters Interiors is one of the biggest home furnishings retailers in the Hauraki Plains and Coromandel Peninsula.

The store’s 1240sq m floor plate sits on some 1597sq m of rectangular-shaped freehold land zoned commercial 8A under the Waikato Regional Council Plan. 

Like most small New Zealand rural towns, Thames’ main retail activity runs along a ‘high street’ spine, Pollen St, with numerous arterial roads — such as Sealey St— running off it.

Baxters Interiors has a three-year lease through to 2025, with two further three-year rights of renewal,  generating annual rental of $86,900 plus GST and additionally paying all operational expenditure. A rent review clause in April 2022 is included in the lease.

The land and building will be auctioned on December 5 through Bayleys Hamilton. 

Salespeople Josh Smith and Jason Kong saidBaxters Interiors was one of the biggest retail sites in Thames’ central business district. The property features in Bayleys’ latest Total Property portfolio magazine.

“Its position just 50m back from the main Thames thoroughfare of Pollen St supports the sheer size of operating in a ‘big box’ environment,” Smith said.

“Concrete block masonry walls and steel columns support a cantilevered canopy which allows for prominent brand signage. The construction combines to deliver the open plan space required to display a wide range of beds, lounge suites, bedroom dresser units and dining room tables.

“This is the predominant reason for Baxters Interiors operating from  Sealey St instead of smaller premises in Pollen St. It sells furniture from such renown makers as LA-Z-BOY, Sleepyhead and John Young.”

Kong said staff amenities and warehousing space within the building were separated from the main showroom floor by an internal wall. He added that the rear of the premises contained a loading bay accessible by a vehicle service lane.

Staff parking is provided to the side of the Sealey St building, with unmetered customer parking immediately outside the showroom’s broad street frontage with its ground to ceiling windows. 

Kong said there was additional parking at the rear of the property on an adjoining public carpark.