Investors Prepare To Dive In As Award-Winning Pool Company’s Premises Go Up For Sale

A converted character warehouse housing an award-winning swimming pool supplier and a big-brand clothing distributor has been placed on the market for sale.

The freehold property at 24 McColl Street, Newmarket, has been fully-leased for over a decade to Auckland-based pool specialists Executive Pools and fashion clothing and sportswear firm True Alliance.

Located amid cafes, boutique business premises and residences in Newmarket’s vibrant ‘Roxburgh Hub’, the property consists of a two-storey standalone commercial building with separate tenancies on each floor. It generates total net rental income of $137,825 plus outgoings and GST per annum.

Executive Pool Shop Limited has occupied the 209-square metre ground floor with a showroom and offices since 2009. Founded in 1984, the company is considered a market leader in the concrete swimming pool industry. Its specialist offerings, including pool design, build and renewal and product supplies, have seen it win multiple awards from the New Zealand Pool Industry Association.

Earlier this year the company grew its valet and servicing arm by buying the Naked Pool Company, which had been the ground-floor tenant at 24 McColl Street since 2009.

Executive Pool Shop’s tenancy generates annual net rental income of $66,380 plus outgoings and GST on a lease that runs through to 2023, with a further three-year right of renewal. The lease incorporates two-yearly market rental reviews.

Approximately 260 square metres on the first floor serves as an office base for major clothing distributor True Alliance (NZ) Limited, whose tenancy also goes back more than a decade.

True Alliance is one of Australasia’s largest distributors of fashion clothing, sportswear and footwear – dealing in global brands such as Lacoste, Speedo, Teva, The North Face, UGG and Wrangler. Formed in 1982, the company is headquartered in Sydney and has offices, retail stores and showrooms in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Auckland.

The company pays annual rent of $71,446 plus outgoings and GST for its approximately 260 square metres of first-floor space.

The land and building at 24 McColl Street, Newmarket, are now being marketed for sale by tender closing on 3 December (if not sold prior) through Bayleys Auckland Central.

Salespeople Cameron Melhuish and Ben Wallace said the approximately 469-square metre building sat on some 322 square metres of flat land.

Originally built in the 1950s for industrial warehousing and office space, it was significantly refurbished around 12 years ago into higher-value commercial space. Its two levels were split into separate tenancies while still retaining the building’s character attributes.

The McColl Street building has an Initial Evaluation Procedure rating of 70 percent of new building standard, Mr Melhuish said.

“The ground level, housing Executive Pools, consists of an open-plan character office/showroom space. It has a meeting room beside the main entrance from McColl Street, with toilet and shower amenities located at the rear.

“The first floor is currently leased on a monthly basis. It is predominantly open-plan with office and meeting areas plus storage spaces, and a deck at the rear. Amenities include a kitchen, two toilets and a shower. This space oozes character with polished concrete floors, exposed concrete columns, beams and timber-truss roofing and a high stud,” said Mr Melhuish.

“This short-term upstairs tenancy invites possibilities for commercial owner-occupiers or potential residential use.”

The site at 24 McColl Street is part of an area targeted for growth through its Business – Metropolitan Centre zoning under Auckland Council’s unitary plan. This permits intensive development opportunities up to a maximum height of 72.5 metres.

“Newmarket is set to be a major growth hub for the city. The Auckland Unitary Plan has introduced more intensive zoning for many properties, encouraging the development of substantial buildings with a greater floor area and height,” said Mr Melhuish.

Mr Wallace said growth in the area would be further bolstered by Auckland University’s Newmarket campus project, about 200 metres from the McColl Street property. This would see the 5.2-hectare former Lion Brewery site developed over the next 25 years into a mixed-use campus incorporating student accommodation.

“Newmarket is one of New Zealand’s premier retail and office districts. World-class shopping attractions include top local and international brands and the area has gained a big boost from the major expansion of the Westfield Mall on Broadway,” said Mr Wallace.

Mr Wallace said Newmarket was also home to the offices of a growing list of large corporates, including Fuji, Xerox, Mercury Energy, 2degrees and Watercare.

“The McColl Street site has convenient transport links, being just off busy arterial Khyber Pass Road with a motorway on-ramp just three minutes’ drive away. It is a short walk from two train stations and the area is served by multiple bus routes.

“This property has the added attraction of being in the prized ‘Double Grammar Zone’ for enrolment at Auckland Boys’ and Auckland Girls’ Grammar schools, and close to other top secondary schools such as St Cuthbert’s College and Diocesan School for Girls,” said Mr Wallace.

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