Properties housing three suburban childcare centres

The Discoveries Educare property for sale at 26-28 Anzac Rd in Browns Bay. Photo / Supplied

Land and buildings housing a trio of modern well-established suburban early childhood care centres in Browns Bay, Henderson and Glenfield have been placed on the market.

The three independent-owned suburban Auckland's properties are branded under various early learning centre chains.

Headlining the portfolio is the Discoveries Educare property for sale at 26-28 Anzac Rd in Browns Bay and featuring a 514sq m childcare centre within a strata-titled retail block. The single-level property generates net annual rent of $242,112 plus GST and outgoings.

The building has been certified as 100 per cent compliant with New Building Standards (NBS) and is licensed to accommodate up to 97 children.

The property is zoned Business Town and is being marketed for sale through Bayleys Real Estate, with tenders closing at 11am on Friday August 9.

Bayleys Auckland salespeople Michael Nees and Tony Chaudhary say the Discoveries Educare site is handily located on the fringe of Browns Bay's central business district as the precinct moved into a light industrial part of the suburb – delivering a steady stream of pre-school attendees whose parents worked in nearby businesses.

Nees and Chaudhary are also marketing the land and buildings at 12 Locket Rd in Glenfield featuring a 110sq m childcare centre sitting on 751sq m of freehold land zoned Mixed Housing Urban. This property generates net rent of $90,000 plus GST and outgoings per annum.

Tenant Educare Kids is on a lease currently running through to 2034 with two further 10-year rights of renewal. The single-level bungalow-styled property is zoned Residential – Mixed Housing Suburban. It is licensed to accommodate up to 40 children.

The land and buildings at 12 Locket Rd are being marketed for sale at auction through Bayleys Real Estate, with the auction commencing at 11am on Wednesday August 7.

Nees and Chaudhary say the property has a substantial street frontage onto Locket Rd – allowing for a dual entry/exit point driveway and car parking amenity.

Finally, a Discoveries Educate property at 6/151 Lincoln Rd in Henderson comprise a 600sq m childcare centre sitting within a strata-titled retail block. Tenant Discoveries Educate is on a lease running through to 2024 with one further 10-year right of renewal.

The property generates net rent of $129,433 plus GST and outgoings per annum – soon rising to $132,000 per annum. The building has been certified as 100 per cent compliant with New Building Standards (NBS) and is licensed to accommodate up to 50 children.

The land and buildings – but not the business – are being marketed for sale by private treaty through Bayleys Real Estate, with offers closing at 4pm on Monday August 5.

Chaudhary and his colleague Janak Darji, say the first-floor childcare centre was built in 2014 and was situated above a busy block of shops containing various convenience food outlets.

Bayleys Real Estate national commercial and industrial director Ryan Johnson says the childcare property sector has grown considerably over the past decade – driven predominantly by two demographic and socio-economic factors.

"Auckland's population growth, combined with more families having twoparents working full-time to pay the mortgage, have been the key drivers of growing demand for childcare places over the past decade … and the consequential provision of amenities sustaining childcare businesses," he says.

"With the early childhood sector now a critical massed commercial property segment in its own right, we are seeing more and more childcare premises coming to the market – either as new-build premises or as established buildings which have been converted from either residential dwellings or office spaces," Johnson says.

The Discoveries Educare property at 6/151 Lincoln Rd in Henderson. Photo / Supplied

"With these three sites coming to market simultaneously yet independent of each other there's the opportunity for an investor landlord to capitalise on the economies of scale and efficiency offered by owning multiple properties in relatively to their closeness to each other and in the same property sector.

"All the three sites above have substantial off-street carparking spaces immediately outside their entry doors. Security and safety of the children in care has been paramount in all design features used throughout the three buildings. This is particularly evident in the outdoor playground areas."

There are currently 4544 early childhood education (ECE) locations in New Zealand, of which 160 were newly licensed in 2016. The majority of ECE centres in New Zealand – more than 85 per cent – are run by small independent operators.

On average, 152 new early childhood education sites open each year. Auckland has 1407 ECE services, with the Ministry of Education currently assessing a substantial number of applications for new operations throughout the city.

Since 2008, the proportion of pre-school children enrolled in early childhood education (ECE) and the amount of time they spend there have both risen. The number of children has risen from 93.6 per cent to 96.6 per cent, with time spent in ECE reaching an average of 21.7 hours a week, up from 13.5 hours in 2000. The Government fully funds 20 hours of care a week for all children aged three, four and five.

The largest childcare operators in New Zealand are BestStart Educare, which owns more than 250 early childhood education centres, and offers more than 15,000 full-day care places; and Evolve Education Group, which owns more than 120 centres across the country operating under several leading brands, including Lollipops Educare, Leaps & Bounds and i.Kids.