Wellington Ngauranga Gorge industrial

The Ngauranga Gorge industrial property at 1 Lower Tyers Rd has TIMG as its long-term tenant. Photo / Supplied

A big warehouse and office complex with long-established tenants is for sale half-way up Ngauranga Gorge in Wellington.

With industrial vacancy levels in the Ngauranga precinct tracking below those in other parts of the Wellington region, the property is expected to draw strong interest from investors, says Grant Young of Bayleys Wellington, who is marketing 1 Lower Tyers Rd for sale by tenders closing on Wednesday, June 28.

Young says warehouse and office building was purpose-built for its long-standing tenants, The Information Management Group (TIMG), in 1999 and was last sold in 2009.

TIMG is a provider of specialist secure document storage and document destruction services and is part of the Freightways group of businesses which includes NZ Couriers, Post Haste and DX Mail. There are TIMG branches across the North Island and in Christchurch.

Young says the building has around 4000sq m of warehousing and around 700sq m of predominantly first floor office space. It has a secure electronic vault and staff amenities on the ground floor of the building and parking for 30 cars in the securely-fenced yard.

TIMG has four years remaining on its lease, paying net annual rent of $741,943 plus GST with the option of four, five-year rights of renewal.

Demand is high and supply is low for quality premises in the capital's high-performing industrial sector, Young says.

Recent research undertaken by Bayleys pegs vacancy levels in the popular Ngauranga gorge area at 3.6 per cent - almost one percentage point below the total region's 4.5 per cent vacancy.

Home to some of the region's largest logistics and distribution sector players, Ngauranga's pivotal location on the Wellington roading network means it has long-term appeal for businesses requiring ready access to arterial routes and the inner city.

Young says he sold the Lower Tyers Rd property to the present local investor owners eight years ago and it has proven to be a reliable hands-off investment vehicle - made even more robust by the established presence of the long-term occupiers, TIMG.

"This is a classic example of an industrial investment that can do the hard work for a hands-off, passive investor looking to leverage off the intrinsic locational attributes of the property - which has long-term relevance for industrial sector tenants - and a committed tenant," says Young.

"For businesses like TIMG that work to time-sensitive deadlines and turnarounds, a location such as Ngauranga is definitely conducive to meeting client service targets.

"While a great fit for TIMG's business operation, the property has longevity in the market as it's inherently adaptable to a range of other industrial uses thanks to its 10 metre-high stud that offers substantial cubic capacity for racking and efficient storage purposes."

He says the property's credentials are further enhanced by being located well above any potential tsunami line and for having strong seismic compliance with its assessed new building standard (NBS) rating above 100 per cent.