Boutique funds manager Newmark Capital has significantly boosted the value of its Chadstone Homeplus Homemaker Centre after signing Bunnings in a 10-year deal.
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Hardware giant Bunnings will open a large-format 7600-square-metre store within months at the centre at 685 Warrigal Road, which is about 500 metres on the north side of the Monash Freeway from Chadstone Shopping Centre.
Bunnings will share space in the Homeplus Centre with other major retailers Barbeques Galore, The Good Guys, Snooze, Freedom, JB Hi-Fi, E&S Trading and Adriatic Furniture.
GormanKelly director Robert Kelly, who negotiated the deal, said Bunnings would be a significant drawcard and provide the big box outlet with enormous capital uplift.
Newmark was founded by former Hawthorn football star Chris Langford and Simon Morris who previously headed Peninsula Development Group.
The Homeplus Centre, bought for $55 million in 2011, was the start-up syndicator's first single-asset fund.
Its value was likely to soar above $80 million after the deal with Bunnings.
The Newmark pair have been active buyers since. They closed a deal with Challenger Life to buy 417 St Kilda Road for $81.3 million three years ago in 2013 and, more recently, were speculated to be eyeing Mirvac's Como Centre for $230 million.
Industry sources suggest rents for a large retailer such as Bunnings were likely to be between $280-$320 per square metre.
Nearby, the Gandel Group and Vicinity Centres-owned Chadstone Shopping Centre enjoyed $1.4 billion in retail spending, according to the last annual Big Guns survey from Shopping Centre News.
