APN Convenience Retail REIT (AQR) has exchanged contracts to acquire Warrego Highway Travel Centre, QLD, and conditionally exchanged contracts to acquire Dubbo Service Centre, NSW.
The Warrego station, whose tenants are Ampol and Carl’s Jr, was acquired for $16 million, while the Dubbo station, tenanted by Mobil and Carl’s Jr, was acquired for $8.4 million.
The acquisitions will be funded by existing debt capacity, increasing AQR’s gearing to 33.6 per cent on a pro forma basis, which is within AQR’s 25 per cent – 40 per cent target range.
AQR Fund Manager, Chris Brockett said: “The acquisition of Warrego and Dubbo reflect our active and disciplined approach to growing the portfolio, with the long WALE and average rent reviews providing a high level of income security and sustainable source of income growth.
“We have a healthy pipeline of identified opportunities and look forward to further leveraging Dexus’s platform to continue to deliver on our strategy of investing in strategically located convenience retail assets that provide investors with an attractive, defensive and growing income stream.”
Following the settlement of Warrego and the completion of Dubbo, AQR’s portfolio will grow to 111 properties valued at $762 million.