4-6 Waitangi Road, Awatoto, Napier

The national property portfolio of one of New Zealand’s first carpet manufacturers, the iconic New Zealand NZX-listed Cavalier Bremworth, has come to the market via a sale and lease back offering which will see the company maintain its production presence in three cities across the North Island.

The substantial freehold industrial landholdings are in South Auckland, Napier and Whanganui and in each of these locations, Cavalier Bremworth will commit to long-term leases under new ownership.

The three properties in the portfolio are for sale individually or together by way of Deadline Private Treaty (unless sold prior), closing 4pm Thursday 9th July, 2020 with Bayleys.

As a total portfolio, the offering features more than 7-hectares of land and has a weighted average lease term of 8.6 years, returning an indicative net annual rental of $3,100,000.

The portfolio sale is being overseen by Bayleys’ sale and lease back specialist project team of James Valintine, Scott Campbell and James Hill based in Auckland, along with colleagues on the ground in Napier and Whanganui.

Valintine says the portfolio – both as a whole and as individual components – makes for a compelling industrial investment proposition.

“The industrial sector continues to attract strong investor appetite – particularly where there is a trusted tenant covenant,” he explains.

“Large, well-located industrial property assets with robust underlying zonings and land values, along with potential for land use change in the future, continue to draw enquiry nationwide,” he says.

“The industrial sector was firing on all cylinders pre-pandemic and appears to have emerged largely unscathed, with an uptick in the sale and leaseback market as industrial owner-occupiers transition into a new business and economic environment.”

For more than 50 years, Cavalier Bremworth has made carpets for the domestic and international market, expanding from its original Auckland base, to include substantial plants in Whanganui and Napier.

The company says it believes there will be a resurgence in demand for quality New Zealand-made wool carpets and it is confidently looking to the future as it observes growing consumer desire for products that are thoughtfully-designed, high-performing, and easier on the environment.

Cavalier Bremworth’s main manufacturing facility within Papatoetoe’s industrial precinct is at 7-9 Grayson Avenue and 2 and 9 Brett Avenue, with a total 2.036 hectares of land held across three titles and high site coverage with around 15,375qm of lettable building and yard area.

The property comprises three main warehouse facilities, along with an office and amenity block over two levels, with significant infrastructural investment from Cavalier Bremworth to optimise its production operation.

An indicative new six-year lease to Cavalier Bremworth Limited will apply from settlement at a net rental of $1,600,000 per annum plus GST and outgoings, with renewals.

“While this fit-for-purpose property is serving the tenant well, a long-lens view confirms future upside given that prospective brownfields development sites of this scale are thin on the ground in the Auckland region,” says Valintine.

“The proximity and easy access to both State Highway 1, State Highway 20 and Auckland International Airport underpins its current and future desirability.

“Papatoetoe has been identified by Auckland Council as a growth area and revitalisation projects are underway which can only bode well for the wider area’s potential.”

In Hawke’s Bay, Cavalier Bremworth’s Napier yarn spinning plant at 4-6 Waitangi Road, adjacent to the foreshore and in the Awatoto industrial precinct, is on a freehold 24,420sqm site with a total building area of 16,833sqm.

There’s an eight-bay interconnected main warehouse complex along with an administration building and other smaller buildings.

The property has good water allocation and rights, and there is an indicative 10-year net lease returning $850,000 plus GST from settlement, with rights of renewal.

Bayleys’ national director of industrial and logistics, Scott Campbell, says this site could have future brownfields development potential down the track and its city-fringe location underscores the investment value proposition.

“The immediate area is largely industrial and seen as a vital contributor to Napier’s production and manufacturing economy,” he says.

“The proximity to Napier Port is a drawcard and the Cavalier Bremworth property itself backs onto the Palmerston North-Napier rail line.

“This industrially-zoned precinct remains in high demand by owner-occupiers and tenants, with low vacancy and limited supply.”

Down the line in the industrial suburb of Castlecliff, Whanganui, the freehold land and buildings associated with Cavalier’s yarn spinning plant at 17-19 Leamington Street and 14 Beaumaris Avenue, are also for sale.

Campbell says the majority of the city’s producers and manufacturers are based here with neighbouring businesses including Affco Imlay Freezing Works, Open Country Dairy,Tasman Tanning and Masterfoods.

“The subject site is around 2.4ha in size and has been occupied by Cavalier Spinners – formerly Castlecliff Spinners – since its establishment in the 1970s,” he explains.

“The main factory has been extended and altered throughout the years and, coupled with other buildings, the total lettable area is around 11,420sqm.”

The indicative net rental is $650,000 per annum plus GST, with a 10-year term from settlement and renewals.

Cavalier was founded by Grant Biel and Tony Timpson, who set up a modest carpet factory in Auckland in the 1970s, before creating the iconic Cavalier Bremworth brand in 1987.

Voted NZ’s Most Trusted Brand in the carpet category of the annual Readers’ Digest poll from 2014 - 2019, Cavalier Bremworth is a fully-owned subsidiary of Cavalier Corporation, which is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange.

7-9 Grayson Avenue and 2 and 9 Brett Avenue, Papatoetoe. Auckland

17-19 Leamington Street and 14 Beaumaris Avenue, Whanganui