Listed property trust APN Property Group is buying a service station in regional NSW and is looking for more assets as it readies for a $300 million listing of its petrol station fund.
The service station and convenience retail property has Caltex as its major tenant and sits 160km north of Newcastle in Taree, on the key Pacific Highway route.
APN has an option to buy the property for $15.73m on a 6.75 per cent initial yield, with the new petrol station fund to house the property.
The deal is subject to conditions and if the new fund did not acquire the property, APN would make the purchase using cash and bank debt.
The station’s other tenants include McDonald’s, Subway, KFC and Coolabah Tree Cafe, while its fuel volumes rank it in the top 5 per cent of stations in Australia.
APN said it was in active talks about buying other service station and convenience retail assets, with three properties under exclusive due diligence.
The group said its plan was progressing well, with documents expected to be distributed by the end of the month.
APN has tapped investment banks UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to handle the float and invited fund managers to attend meetings outlining its plans last month.
APN struck a partnership with Puma Energy, which operates or supplies more than 240 retail sites and 22 depots and whose parent group supplies oil across five continents.
Investors have been seeking higher-yield defensive listsed stocks, while there is some precedent for interest in petrol station properties after the Viva Energy REIT floated last year.
Extracted from The Australian.
