Pacific Property Fund buys Whangarei property

The Whangarei Farmers building, at 8 Roberts Street.

Pacific Property Fund Limited, an investment portfolio managed by Property Managers Group, is to acquire its first property in Whangarei - a landmark property in the city's CBD.

The building at 8 Robert Street is now tenanted by the Farmers Trading Company, which will commence a new 15-year lease following a building refurbishment programme, says the director of Pacific Property Fund, Denis McMahon.

Pacific Property expects to take ownership of the building before Christmas.

The pending acquisition forms part of the offer of 16,000,0000 new shares in Pacific Property Fund Limited, the largest investment portfolio Property Managers Group manages, says McMahon. The offer formally closes on December 2.

The funds raised will go towards the purchase of 8 Roberts Street; a logistics industrial hub in the Central North Island (Stag Park), and a mixed-use commercial and retail property in Tauranga's CBD.

An artist's impression of the makeover proposed for the building.

McMahon, says the addition to the Fund's diversified portfolio will take its total assets to more than $70 million.

"This acquisition is part of our long-term investment strategy to provide strong and sustainable returns for shareholders," he says.

Property Managers Group's CEO Scott McKenzie, says the proposed acquisition by Pacific Property signifies confidence in the ongoing growth in the area.

"Whangarei generates about half of the Northland regional economy and growth is continuing, with GDP up 2.1 per cent on the past year," McKenzie points out.

"Regional spending and investment indicators show ongoing expansion in the area; population, employment and productivity figures have all increased in the past year.

"These factors - alongside a diversified portfolio of industrial, retail, and office properties - make this a sound proposition for Pacific Property shareholders."

"This gives investors in Whangarei a chance to own a stake of the investment portfolio which owns one of the city's well known landmarks," McKenzie says.