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Amplify Funds Management, a company led by the founders of Townsville-based property developer Honeycombes Property Group, has wrapped up the acquisition of six regional Queensland service station assets for $25.74 million in a debut investment in the sector.
The acquisitions give Amplify Funds Management a presence in high-profile regional sites across the state, including five Caltex-branded properties at Atherton, Banana, Nambour, suburban Townsville and Cairns.
The acquisition also includes a Puma-branded site at Gin Gin which Caltex owner Chevron Corporation plans to rebadge as a Caltex property next year.
Amplify Funds Management, which has offices in Townsville and is headquartered in Brisbane, was established last year to invest in commercial property assets with the group targeting wholesale investors to “co-invest alongside the founders in high quality property trusts seeking to offer secure and stable returns and quantifiable capital growth”.
Its debut investment offering is the Townsville Central Business Park Trust, which includes the newly built Telstra North Queensland Hub, developed by Honeycombes Property Group.
Peter Honeycombe is managing director and Andrew Dowling is CEO of Amplify Funds Management, which reflect the positions they respectively hold at Homeycombes Property Group.
The investment group says the new assets are well located in regional and metropolitan areas and feature strong tenancy covenants, underscoring the appeal of high-quality convenience retail investments.
“These assets satisfy our philosophy of aiming to provide our investors with the best opportunity of capital preservation, secure and predictable incomes from world-class tenants and capital growth,” says Peter Rossi, the chief investment officer at Amplify.
“We have been well supported by Investors from regional Queensland who understand the inelasticity of fuel demands in country areas, far from urban EV-influenced fuel economies.”
The service station assets sit in the group’s latest investment offering, The Fuel and Convenience Trust, which is only available to wholesale and sophisticated investors. Investment returns from the trust of 8 per cent per annum are forecast in the first year, rising to 10 per cent per annum in year eight.
The fuel and convenience centres are all leased to Chevron Australia Products at an average 9.6-year weighted average lease expiry and benefit from 3 per cent annual rental increases. Chevron has four 10-year options on the sites beyond their initial lease term.
The acquisition of the service stations, undertaken in one line, was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield’s Daniel Cullinane and Daniel Wolman.
“This acquisition reflects the continued strength and resilience of the portfolio style fuel and convenience sector,” says Wolman, Cushman & Wakefield’s international director and co-head of investment sales in Victoria.
“We are seeing this trend occur towards the back end of the year as the market anticipates favorable economic conditions with potential interest rate cuts on the horizon.
“Amplify Funds Management has capitalised on a rare opportunity to secure long-term income stability through high volume, essential service assets in strong regional locations.”
Cullinane, who is head of national investment sales at Cushman & Wakefield, notes that demand for convenience retail assets remains robust due to their classification as essential services, which he says ensures stable, secure income streams for investors.
“Queensland’s investment landscape is particularly appealing, bolstered by recent government initiatives and global attention as we look ahead to the 2032 Olympics,” he says.
“This sale highlights Queensland’s emergence as an investment destination of choice.”
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