ANOTHER commercial property has sold in the Bendigo CBD with a trader going from tenant to land owner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cyclescape owner Matt Britton and Bendigo Cyclescape manager Ben Wildman have bought the land for an undisclosed amount at the corner of St Andrews Avenue and Myers Street where their store is.
Mr Britton, who also owns a cycling store in Ballarat, said the opportunity to pay a mortgage rather than rent was very appealing.
Read more:
"When it went on market we had to bid like everyone else did," he said. "It was by expression of interest, so it was daunting trying to figure what the property was worth.
"We threw our price in the ring and started negotiating from there."
Cyclescape has been operating in Bendigo for almost eight years with Mr Britton seeing a lot of potential for the area around his store.
"We are creating an asset for ourselves. It was predominately an investment for the future," he said. "We saw a great opportunity for where we are but also with the opening of the GovHub.
"It's hard to get commercial land in town around Bendigo. We see a lot of potential for this site in future but it gives us certainty with rent rises and interest rate rises.
"We have just gone through a rent review for the Ballarat store and the consumer price index is now at six per cent."
Priority 1 Property Bendigo general manager Chris Garlick, who sold the property, said he is seeing more owner-occupier interest in commercial property.
"St Andrews Avenue is another example of this," Mr Garlick said. "As property prices have increased significantly over the past couple of years, the number tenants looking to purchase a property and be putting their rent towards owning their own building has increased significantly in the past year.
"Annual CPI increases and market reviews do have an impact on the amount of rent that tenants pay and with further interest rate increases and CPI pain being forecast, if tenants are fortunate enough to buy their own premise, it is making more and more sense to do so.
"At Priority1 Property, the number of calls we are receiving for commercial properties from tenants looking to purchase is significant as there isn't a great deal of properties available at present."
Mr Britton and his partners a keeping their options open on how the two titled piece of land could develop in the future.
For now food truck Mr Nicks On Wheels is operating out of the car park next to the store.
"Nick runs that himself, we have just lent him some of the car park," Mr Britton said. "But I think the GovHub will bring a lot of people to area.
"Having that kind of establishment there give an opportunity for e-bikes and commuters heading to places like gov hub.
"We have car parking there, that's something we could potentially rent out. We might look into bike storage or charging stations as well."
Now just one tap with our new app. Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser. See how to download it below: