One of New Zealand’s most prominent retail assets is on the market, the Manukau Supa Centa.
This is the first time the centre has been formally offered for sale since 2007. JLL is marketing the asset via an international expressions of interest campaign closing April 16.
The powerhouse large-format retail Centre is underpinned by over 39,000sq m of lettable area and anchored by a range of international and national flagship retailers. These include a 24-hour trading Kmart which is one of the top performing Kmart stores in the retailer’s Australasian network.
The centre is interconnected and co-located with Harvey Norman, Bunnings Warehouse and Mitre 10, providing significant critical mass with a combined gross lettable area for the precinct of over 67,000sq m.
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The sale is in the hands of JLL’s New Zealand and Australia retail investment teams, directed by Jonathan Ogg and Harry Fergusson and Australia-based Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher.
Fergusson said, “Rarely do 100 per cent interests in dominant retail assets in metropolitan Auckland, such as Manukau Supa Centa, become available. This will represent the largest 100 per cent interest in a New Zealand large-format retail centre to ever be offered for sale and provides new entrant investors an opportunity of immediate scale.”
“Institutional retail investment opportunities across the Australasian region continue to be tightly held, in particular large-format retail. In New Zealand there were no multi-tenanted LFR sales in 2024, and in Australia the average volume over 2023-24 was some 47 per cent below the prior five-year average.
"With globally improving sentiment towards the sector, New Zealand’s favourable tax regime, recent and forecast interest rate cuts, we are experiencing a heightened level of capital demand for New Zealand investment opportunities.”
Manukau Supa Centa has recently undergone a significant refurbishment and expansion, including the brand-new relocated and expanded Kmart tenancy, introduction of Zone Bowling, and Fitness Cartels' first international store.
In addition, the centre is home to New Zealand flagship Baby Bunting and supported by other powerhouse brands including Super Cheap Auto, Glassons, Rebel Sport, Noel Leeming, Animates and Briscoe’s.
Strategically positioned in the Manukau town centre, 21km south of Auckland CBD, the centre lies just 400m from Manukau train station and has a flexible metropolitan centre zoning which permits large-scale mixed-use development of up to 72.5m or approximately 24 storeys.
Ogg said, “Manukau Supa Centa’s strategic last mile location provides the centre with access to over 47 per cent of Auckland’s population within a 25-minute drive time, cementing its dominance and infill nature.
"This unique position, large landholding and low site coverage provides the incoming owner significant future development opportunities. Further to this, the LFR sector continues to outperform, with supply and demand imbalances driving strong income growth in the asset class.
"Manukau Supa Centa has a unique lease expiry profile affording the incoming owner an opportunity to capitalise on this thematic.”
Auckland continues to be sought-after by residents and businesses. Research by Location IQ shows that the region is growing faster than the rest of New Zealand.
Manukau Supa Centa’s main trade area is expected to grow to 587,567 people by 2046, indicating a growth rate of 1.2 per cent a year (which is in line with Australia) against the New Zealand average of just 0.6 per cent a year.
Willis said, “We are experiencing a renewed level of investor confidence locally in New Zealand as capital sources are resonating with the strengthening macro-landscape. Retail floor space supply in New Zealand is one of the lowest globally, representing approximately half of Australia’s supply per capita and just a quarter of the US supply per capita.
The lower supply levels, combined with an inability to replicate existing assets due to growing construction costs, underpins the fortress nature of Manukau which is expected to lead to outperformance on tenant sales and income growth.
"Further to this, Manukau Supa Centa is the last major LFR asset south of the Auckland CBD set to capitalise on significant population growth in this southern corridor.”
- Supplied by JLL
