Business
16 July, 2025
$34m shopping centre sale
THE owner of two of the biggest shopping centres in Cairns has added the Clifton Village Shopping Centre at Clifton Beach to its portfolio.
Property fund manager Fawkner Property paid Indigenous Business Australia, as trustee for the IREIT Sub-Trust (IBA), $34 million.
Fawkner Property owns Earlville Shopping Town, which it paid $146m for in 2022 and Cairns Central Shopping Centre in 2024 ($390m).
CBRE’s Michael Hedger, Joe Tynan and Danny Betros, of Cairns, exclusively managed the sale.
Mr Hedger said the expression of interest campaign was competitive.
He said there were more than 112 direct enquiries from private investors, syndicates and institutions with nine competitive offers presented at the close, demonstrating the continued demand in the neighbourhood investment sector. “Since the relaxation of monetary policy we have seen stronger enquiry levels across all retail investment campaigns in the market with new purchaser groups accounting for 28 per cent, predominantly in the private and syndications sector,” Mr Hedger said.
He said the strong performing, dominant shopping centre was well-established within the trade area of Clifton Beach.
The 7811sqm shopping centre, which is 24km north of the Cairns CBD in Clifton Beach, is underpinned by a recently refurbished Coles supermarket, one mini-major and 23 specialty stores.
The tenants include The Reject Shop, Liquorland, Domino’s, Terry White Chemist, QML Pathology and a large medical centre.
“With the increasing construction costs putting pressure on new supply and future development feasibility, we continue to see strong demand from investors for assets that show value well below replacement costs,” Mr Tynan said.
The sale of the shopping centre is the third retail property that CBRE has sold in Far North Queensland in 2025, including ISPT’s acquisition of North Shore Marketplace for $33m.
Within the past two years Fawkner Property has acquired over $1.85 billion in shopping centres across Australia, including Gladstone Square Shopping Centre ($26.7m), Willows Shopping Centre in Townsville ($212m) and Gladstone Centre Plaza ($139m), making the fund manager the dominant owner of shopping centres in central and north Queensland.
The Indigenous Real Estate Investment Trust (I-REIT) acquired Clifton Village in November 2017 and it is understood the sale is part of the management of its property portfolio.
The trust has property assets of more than $164.2 million.
It also owns office buildings in Victoria, Townsville and Kalgoorlie, shopping centres in Mackay, Warabrook, an Amart furniture store in Wagga Wagga and service stations in West Australia.
