THE PRESS - A Bexley retail complex is up for sale, less than two years after it was bought by a group of Christchurch investors. The Pages Road site, once home to McVicar’s Timber yard and now occupied by eight retail tenants, is being sold by AJK Group for more than $4.19 million plus GST.

A Simes commercial sales specialist, Craig Edwards, said the owners, who acquired the property in mid - 2006, had other opportunities they wanted to explore. AJK Group bought the property from Doncaster Holdings, which developed the complex, bordering the Avon River, in 2004. Tenants, who are all on long-term leases, include Robbie’s Bar and Bistro, Video Ezy, Dominos Pizza, Curves Gym, the TAB, Henry’s Beer Wine and Spirits and an Indian takeaway. One shop, previously occupied by a convenience store, is vacant.

Edwards said the property, which included 90 car parks, returned about $330,000 annually, but there was potential to increase that in upcoming rent reviews. “The complex is trading well, but there’s still more growth in it,” he said.

About 14,000 cars travel on Pages Road a day, with additional exposure to approximately 6,800 cars on New Brighton Road. When the complex was first developed, much thought was put into attracting tenants that met the needs of the local community and were compatible with each other. New tenants were still carefully considered to make sure they weren’t in direct competition with existing tenants. That’s why that type of complex worked, Edwards said. He expected the property to appeal to a wide range of investors. It was affordable enough for a single investor or a syndicate of two or three people.