A prime cold-storage and temperature-controlled logistics facility in Sydney’s North West is set to provide a unique offering in an emerging and increasingly sought-after sector, listed exclusively for sale via Colliers I&L Capital Markets team of Gavin Bishop Head of I&L Capital Markets, and Sean Thomson, National Director I&L Capital Market Australia, with price expectations of over $75 million.

The facility at 1-3 Zeleny Road in Minchinbury, being sold on behalf of Barber Property Group and Minus 1 Refrigerated Logistics, offers a Gross Lettable Area of 10,181sqm and a total site area of 20,016sqm, and will be offered for sale on an efficient fund-through acquisition structure.  

Barber Property Group Managing Director, Paul Barber said, “the developer’s intention was to deliver an environmentally sustainable cold store logistics facility, reducing power usage by up to 30 per cent over existing coldstores whilst maximising operational efficiencies for Minus 1 through an innovative design which not only suits the tenants needs but future-proofs the occupier base over the course of the building’s lifecycle.”

“A surge in online sales for groceries, meal delivery services, perishable foods and the distribution of vaccines is set to see the demand for cold storage facilities grow substantially in coming years.”

“We expect global capital to increasingly be drawn to the resilient nature of the Minchinbury precinct, as sectors and assets which offer income growth will be highly sought-after as they support asset values in the current investment climate,” Mr Bishop said.

“Indicators show that globally, the cold storage market is expected to grow by approximately 13 per cent per annum, reaching around $320 billion by 2025, highlighting sustained demand for quality facilities.”

Australia currently has approximately 0.38 cubic meters of cold storage warehousing space per person, which is nearly 20 per cent below the average recorded for advanced economies worldwide. This shortage is set to spur demand for this asset and we expect a strong response from the market.

Sean Thomson added, “The food grade logistics sector has grown rapidly in recent years, led by an increase in non-discretionary retail expenditure and the resilience of the food consumption sector in recent years, leading to increased demand from institutional groups seeking exposure to the sector.”

“Nationally, the vacancy rate for the broader industrial market currently measures 1.0%, however, for cold storage assets, vacancies are closer to zero with only a handful of facilities available for lease over the next 12 months, underpinning the viability and performance of this asset class from an investment perspective”

A de-risked transaction structure is offered with a long-term triple net lease to Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport, with a starting rental of $4,072,400 per annum. Experience cold storage construction company Spaceframe has been appointed as the builder.

Barber Property Group has a mandate to develop a national portfolio of cold storage assets on behalf of its client, Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport, a privately owned national refrigerated transport company.

This venture could provide the potential partner with a national development pipeline of nearly 30,000sqm of GLA with four new facilities across Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth to a value of approximately $300 million.

Billy Barba, Managing Director at Minus 1 Refrigerated Transport said, “This presents great opportunity for the Minus 1 Business to further cement it’s self as a leader within the Coldchain logistics industry.”

“The multi temperature zone facility supports our current and future road transport division and will enable the business to offer a cold storage solution to our customers and industry for the first time.”

“We see this as the first exciting step towards a national roll out which will see excelled growth and capability.”

1-3 Zeleny Road, Minchinbury is for sale via an international Expressions of Interest Sales campaign with offers due Wednesday, 6th March 2024.