Rare and huge Otahuhu landholding

The huge 13.28ha Savills Industrial Estate is for sale in Auckland's suburb of Otahuhu, representing a rare opportunity to acquire a significant landholding in one of the city's major industrial hubs.

"It's very unusual for a freehold industrial landholding of this scale to become available for purchase in the Auckland market," says Greg Goldfinch, industrial national director for Colliers International who, with colleagues Paul Jarvie and Simon Felton, is marketing it for sale by deadline private treaty closing at 4pm on Thursday August 2, unless it sells earlier.

"The property comprises 10 individual titles on Savill Drive and Alderman Place," says Goldfinch.

The Savill Industrial Estate is located at the southern end of Otahuhu, merging into Mangere, and encompasses the addresses 7, 12, 18 and 21 Savill Drive; along with 1, 5, 6, 9, 13 and 17 Alderman Place.

Goldfinch says there is scope for the titles to be bought either individually or together as a single investment.

"The estate currently earns $1.75 million in net annual rent plus GST, with a mix of short and long lease terms," he says.

"Tenants include container depot operator Metrobox, vehicle wreckers Pick-A-Part and timber exporter Guru NZ.

"Located between Auckland's key industrial precincts, this strategic landholding offers superb access to key infrastructure, including its own rail siding on the North Island's main trunk railway line.

"With locked-in rental growth and significant long-term development potential, this exceptional investment opportunity will appeal to any long-term investor looking to 'bottom drawer' a large industrial site with income".

Jarvie says the sites within the estate are under-utilised and have excellent development potential.

"Considering the substantial size of the landholding, these properties represent the chance to completely reshape and reposition a significant portion of the Otahuhu industrial precinct.

"Long-term redevelopment of the properties would be aided by the predominantly flat sites, with minimal existing improvements."

Jarvie says the Savill Industrial Estate is centrally located between Auckland's major industrial and logistics hubs of East Tamaki, Wiri, Mount Wellington and Onehunga.

"It is about 18km southeast of Auckland CBD, 8km northeast of Auckland International Airport, and 7.5km from the Wiri Inland Port," Jarvie says.

"The estate has superb accessibility to the wider Auckland region and beyond, with the Southern and Southwestern motorway interchanges located nearby.

"An active rail siding at 21 Savill Drive allows the property to directly service the main trunk railway line – one of the key infrastructure assets connecting the North Island's industrial hubs."

Felton says the wider Otahuhu area is characterised by a number of large industrial landholdings, including the well-regarded Savill Link Industrial Estate, just north of the properties for sale.

"Major tenants in this recently developed estate include Toll Logistics, Steel & Tube, Holden, Coda, Furniture City, Supercheap Auto and Mainstream Logistics.

"The area also has a large residential population, which provides a solid labour force of both blue and white-collar workers."

The sites for sale are predominately zoned Business Light Industry, which allows for a wide range of industrial uses including manufacturing, production, logistics, storage and distribution.

Felton says a variety of lease lengths allows for staged development or occupation of the sites.

"The lease covering 1ha of 12 Savill Drive expires on January 1 next year, giving the buyers an option to occupy in this tightly held area.

"The remaining properties are rented at substantially below market rates, which will appeal to strategic land-bankers, add-value investors or developers with a long-term view."

Tenant Metrobox occupies 10.7ha of the estate at 12, 18 and 21 Savill Drive, and 6 Alderman Place. Its lease includes the rail siding at 21 Savill Drive.

Metrobox is a major container depot facility that was formed as a joint venture between The Specialised Group and MetroPort – an inland port operated by the Port of Tauranga using the KiwiRail network.

The company is signed to 10-year leases with two six-year rights of renewal. The Metrobox leases earn $1,212,000 in net annual rent, with annual Consumer Price Index reviews and capped market reviews every five years.

National brand tenant Pick-A-Part – one of New Zealand's largest car wreckers, with six locations throughout the country – occupies 1.58ha of the estate at 1, 5, 9, 13 and 17 Alderman Place, and 7 Savill Drive.

Pick-A-Part pays $327,599 in net annual rent, with market rent reviews due in 2020 and 2022. The company is on its last right of renewal, with final lease expiry on March 31, 2023.

Guru NZ, an exporter of pine timber, occupies the part lease of 12 Savill Drive. It pays $210,000 in net annual rent, with the lease expiry imminent at the end of the year.

Goldfinch says the Savill Industrial Estate offers developers, investors and occupiers the chance to reposition a large Otahuhu industrial landholding.

"It's arguably one of the last substantial, centrally-located industrial estates in Auckland," he says.