Tenders for a bite of industrial complex

The 11.6ha industrial complex (red bordered) up for tender in five lots is in the Tomoana Rd industrial precinct in Hastings. Photo / Supplied

Tenders are being called for one of Hawkes Bay's biggest industrial complexes, housing well-known names in the food processing and production sector and situated at the hub of the Tomoana industrial precinct in Hastings.

The property, between a major Heinz Wattie complex and the Whakatu industrial area, is being subdivided into five lots - one major lot and four smaller ones.

It is expected the subdivision will open up investment opportunities to a broader base of potential parties.

With site coverage of 36 per cent, the complex is spread over 11.6ha with frontages to Williams St, Tomoana Rd and Coventry Rd in Hastings and includes its own rail siding off the Napier-Wellington line.

The complex was built in the 1960s by the Government for the Apple and Pear Board, which subsequently became Enza and then merged with Turners and Growers in 2003.

Guinness Peat Group (GPG), a publicly listed company, has a significant interest in Turners and Growers.

Tenders close with Bayleys Hawkes Bay on April 14 through marketing agents Rollo Vavasour and Eoin Carty of Bayleys Hawkes Bay.

Carty say Lot 1 is the premium lot on offer, given the 11-year lease in place with industry heavyweight Enza.

"The vendor, at the request of Enza, is currently completing at significant cost a large conversion project on the building known as the Ken Kiddle Store. This cool-storage facility is being converted to a cold-store facility allowing for a sub-zero storage environment, thus creating a niche resource for the company," says Carty.

"The new 11-year lease will be dated from the time of completion for the cold-store project, expected to be in the next month.

"There's a further nine-year right of renewal and annual rent reviews are pegged against the CPI so rental increases are a given."

Several divisions of Enza have varying-term leases on Lots 2, 3 and 5 in the complex, with other tenants including Big Chill Distribution and Brownrigg Agriculture.

Lot 2 has a vacant pack-house and canopied area plus bare land suitable for storage or a new build.

The entire site is fully security-fenced, sealed and serviced and has good infrastructural links with easy road access to the Napier-Hastings Expressway, SH2 and the rail siding to the main trunk line. In addition, the proposed multimillion-dollar northern arterial route to link Havelock North with the Napier-Hastings Expressway coming through on the Coventry Rd end of the property, although on hold at present, is still part of council plans.

Vavasour says the new arterial route would improve the dynamics of this site, giving it huge traffic exposure on to what would become the main route to Havelock North.

"Profile to a main road is a benefit to any business and would secure the desirability of this complex well into in the future."

The established Tomoana industrial precinct has traditionally serviced the primary/food production sector with businesses in the immediate vicinity including Mr Apple, Lowe Corporation, Apollo Pac, Amcor Food Cans Australasia, Dynamic Meats and Rush Munro's Icecream factory.

"We have received good early interest in the property and feedback suggests it would be an ideal syndication project," says Carty.

"The main lot has the advantage of a committed tenant with a long and beneficial lease structure, while the smaller offerings have plenty of add-value opportunity.

"A new investor could start their commercial and industrial property portfolio off with one of these smaller lots thus securing a foothold in this region underpinned by a strong horticulture and processing sector."