Revelop buys three Sydney neighbourhood shopping centres for $126m in off-market deal
Revelop has expanded its Sydney retail portfolio with a $126.3 million off-market acquisition of three neighbourhood shopping centres, as competition intensifies for tightly held assets.
The privately owned retail group has acquired Kareela Village in the south, Ingleburn Village in the south-west, and Quakers Court in the west, which had been held by the same family for around three decades.
Together, the three sites cover almost 20,000 square metres and are anchored by two Coles supermarkets and one Woolworths supermarket, alongside 57 specialty retailers.
Revelop strengthens Sydney retail footprint with trio of acquisitions
The addition of these three centres now takes Revelop’s portfolio to 31 operational shopping centres across Sydney, with nine more centres currently in the development pipeline. The group’s national footprint extends beyond Sydney, with assets in Victoria and South Australia.
“This acquisition reflects our long-term conviction in the convenience retail sector and our strategy of building a market-leading portfolio in Australia’s highest-quality metropolitan markets,” says Anthony El-Hazouri, co-founder and director of Revelop.
“These centres offer exactly what today’s consumers demand: convenience, quality amenity and strong retail fundamentals. They fit seamlessly into our broader development and asset management strategy.”
Why neighbourhood shopping centres remain a top investment target
The deal comes amid increasing competition for neighbourhood shopping centres, which have become a sought-after retail investment due to their defensive income profiles and diversified tenancies.
However, while they attract strong investor interest when they do come to market, Sydney’s neighbourhood shopping centre market remains tightly held, with only a small proportion of the city’s 160 centres regularly traded, according to JLL.
Revelop co-founder and director Charbel Hazzouri confirms that opportunities are few and far between.
“It is extremely difficult to acquire assets of quality and scale in Sydney,” he says. “This portfolio is complementary to our existing and growing Sydney network and provides us a unique opportunity for further enhancement and value creation.”
Tightly held assets and generational sales reshape the market
JLL executive director Nick Willis says investment volumes have slowed due to a shortage of available stock rather than a lack of buyer appetite.
“The neighbourhood sector has been the most liquid over the past three years; however, investment supply is now constrained with volumes down 16 per cent year-to-date,” he says.
“The past 12 months have seen a significant shift in the buyer profile, with institutional capital emerging globally and transitioning to become net acquirers for the first time in several years.”
JLL senior executive Sebastian Fahey says strong buyer demand and limited supply are creating favourable conditions for generational ownership transitions, including for the family who sold these three centres after 30 years of ownership.
“We are seeing a transition in the market, with increasing numbers of long-term family owners taking a strategic approach to estate planning,” Fahey says.
“Many of these families have owned their centres for decades and are now looking to recycle that capital for the next generation.”
