CoolDrive Auto Parts has propelled its Queensland growth with a major Eagle Farm property sale and three lease commitments, including a new head office at Yatala.

CBRE has assisted CoolDrive with its South East Queensland expansion strategy, negotiating both the $6.9 million Eagle Farm sale and the new lease deals at Yatala, Burleigh Heads and Banyo.

The transactions follow a period of rapid growth for CoolDrive, which has grown to become Australasia’s largest family-owned and operated aftermarket automotive component suppliers. The company was recently named one of Australia’s best performing private businesses in Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies awards.

CoolDrive Auto Parts CEO John Blanchard said, “CoolDrive has been on a strong growth trajectory in recent years. The South East Queensland market has been a key part of that growth and with the assistance of CBRE we have been able to relocate four branches into bigger sites and open two new sites in Yatala and Burleigh Heads. This has helped us create the platform to maintain our growth for years to come.”

Mr Blanchard added, “As we continue to expand our product offering, especially in brakes, 4x4 and performance products, alongside our existing product ranges, it’s great to have partners such as CBRE that we can lean on for our property requirements.”

A key of CoolDrive’s property strategy has been the sale of the company’s only owned building in Queensland on a short-term, six-month leaseback.

The disposal of the 2,250sqm, 60 Eagleview Place facility will allow CoolDrive to reinvest in its core business and relocate to Banyo - a suburb with a much larger customer base.

CBRE Industrial & Logistics Senior Director Dan Munnich noted, “The new owner is well positioned to secure a replacement tenant for the building once Cool Drive vacates due to historical low vacancy in the Tradecoast industrial market. In turn, CoolDrive has been able to secure a freestanding premises in Banyo which is much closer to its customer base and its Caboolture depot.”

CoolDrive will take occupation of the Banyo property - a 2,365sqm facility at 128 Buchanan Road - in August under a five-year lease agreement.

At Yatala and Burleigh Heads, CoolDrive has secured premises which are two to four times the size of its existing facilities to service growing customer demand.

The seven-year Yatala lease involves the old Techno Racing building, which offers significant exposure to the Pacific Motorway.

The 9-13 Dixon Street building will serve as the company’s flagship location and head office, providing 4,203sqm of space. CoolDrive will relocate to the building in September from much smaller, 600sqm premises in Ashmore.

In a third deal, CoolDrive has leased a 1,818sqm, Burleigh Heads facility at 7 Ern Harley Drive. It will relocate to the property in October under a seven-year lease agreement, with the property bridging the gap between CoolDrive’s Gold Coast and northern NSW locations.

CBRE Industrial & Logistics Director Jack Hardy said, “CoolDrive AutoParts acted swiftly throughout 2023 to secure these new sites to accommodate critical expansion for its growing South East Queensland business as occupier demand continues to outstrip supply. A key aspect of CoolDrive’s expansion was the Yatala lease, providing a state of the-art head office and distribution warehouse. The high spec facility has arguably one of the best positions on the M1 Pacific Motorway, which will assist in growing CoolDrive’s footprint between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.