A 12-building industrial property portfolio for sale in Queenstown could fetch $9 million, but will not make a dent in the resort town's appetite for industrial land, the agent managing the sale says.
Three owners from across Central Otago have banded together to sell the properties under one tender through MAC Property in Queenstown.
The buildings are mostly in Queenstown's Industrial Pl and Glenda Dr industrial zones, with one property at 825-827 Frank ton Rd, next to the planned Frankton Marina.
Existing tenants include the Salvation Army New Zealand Trust, caterers South Island Gourmet Distributors Ltd and In 2 Food, car companies Wan-a car Rentals and Limousine Services Queenstown and panelbeaters Queenstown Collision Centre 2000 Ltd.
MAC Property commercial consultant Mark Simpson yes terday told the Otago Daily Times the package was ‘‘prob ably the biggest'' group of indus trial properties to be marketed in the town in five years.
However, demand for industrial land, fuelled by an ongoing shortage of industrial-zoned land across the Wakatipu Basin, was unlikely to be affected by the transfer of existing properties and businesses to a new owner, he said.
An ‘‘acute'' shortage of industrial and business-zoned land was continuing to drive up prices in Queenstown, with a 2006 study showing just 59ha was available around the resort, he said.
With the town's population forecast to grow by 35,000 by 2026, another 67ha of zoned land was needed to meet demand, the report estimated.
The Queenstown Property Market Update report, released by MAC Property in May last year, warned pressure was driving the cost of industrial land to $650 per square metre and potentially forcing businesses to relocate to Cromwell and Alexandra.
Mr Simpson said pressure was expected to continue, as the rezoning of the Frankton Flats near Queenstown - which aimed to provide 30ha of light and heavy industrial land, as well as 30ha of residential, commercial and retail land - was not expected to be finalised for ‘‘two to four years''.
‘‘We are still going to see that shortage of industrial land. All that does is drive value,'' he said. The 12-building portfolio ten ders would close on March 7. Mr Simpson declined to say what the properties could fetch, but the ODT understands it could be up to $9 million.
It was expected the package would be most attractive to investors lured by returns of up to 18% per annum, rather than developers, and the existing business tenants on a variety of leases were expected to remain he said.
The exception was the Frankton Marina property at 825-827 Frankton Rd, housing Wan-a car Rentals and Limousine Services Queenstown, which could be used for further development, he said.
