Chris Garnaut’s fast-growing retail property group has struck an agreement to acquire the Erina Fair shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast for $895m, further cementing his rise as a major force in Australia’s shopping centre sector.

The purchase coincides with Australia Day events returning across Fawkner Property’s centres, many of which are located outside the major capitals. Erina Fair will be folded into the group’s expanding portfolio and will also host the national day celebrations, aligning with Garnaut’s push to re-establish the occasion as a focal point for shoppers and retailers.

Previously operated by Lendlease, the Gosford-area complex changes hands at a time when confidence is clearly returning to the upper end of the retail property market. The transaction was agreed shortly before large institutions began re-entering the sector in force, following a period when sales were dominated by vendors under pressure to reduce debt or meet redemptions.

The acquisition was made through an unlisted trust backed by more than $400m in equity raised by Fawkner, with the firm itself a substantial investor. It followed a flurry of major deals late last year, including the Australian Retirement Trust buying a 19.9 per cent interest in Westfield Sydney for $864m and Dexus increasing its holding in Westfield Chermside to 50 per cent with a $683m purchase, alongside the creation of a new trust.

Shopping grocery basket (Image: Sourced from unsplash)

Erina Fair was sold by South Korea’s National Pension Service and the Lendlease-managed APPF Retail fund. That fund remains under strain after investors voted to wind it up, with its remaining $2.4bn in assets expected to be progressively sold. Earlier this month, S&P Global cut APPF Retail’s long-term credit rating to BBB- from BBB+ and lowered its short-term rating to A-3, citing the challenges of returning capital to investors. Even so, the ratings agency said orderly disposals were achievable and noted that the balance sheet should strengthen as assets are sold, despite ongoing pressure from Hong Kong-based Link REIT, which is seeking to acquire three malls.

Lendlease said the price achieved for Erina Fair demonstrated the strength of demand for high-quality retail assets. A spokeswoman said the sale delivered a positive result for investors and highlighted renewed confidence in the sector.

That confidence has improved markedly since the depths of the pandemic and the subsequent interest rate tightening cycle, when the APPF Retail fund struggled to satisfy redemption requests. Stronger buyer demand now raises the prospect of better outcomes for investors exiting after several difficult years.

The sale was negotiated by CBRE’s Simon Rooney alongside JLL’s Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher. Rooney said investor appetite for Australian retail assets had rebounded sharply, with total transaction volumes reaching $11.7bn over the past year, including $6.9bn worth of regional and major regional centres changing hands in 2025. He said both domestic and offshore capital were again being channelled into the sector, driven by improving fundamentals and increasingly competitive conditions.

Willis described the deal as a milestone for local retail property, noting that Fawkner’s purchase represented the largest private syndication transaction ever completed across any asset class in Australia. He pointed to renewed global interest in retail property, citing recent US-led momentum and high-profile international transactions, alongside rising offshore participation in the Australian market.

Fawkner confirmed the Erina Fair acquisition was its largest to date and lifted assets under management beyond $5bn. The group is now among the country’s ten biggest retail landlords and the largest private retail fund manager.

The price paid equates to a 22 per cent discount to the centre’s previous peak valuation of $1.15bn and marks the biggest full-interest sale of a regional shopping centre nationally in 15 years. It is also the largest retail asset ever transferred into private ownership in NSW.

Situated on a 100-acre site, Erina Fair generates annual sales of about $814m, placing it within the top 25 shopping centres in Australia. Grocery turnover exceeds $250m a year, supported by high-performing Coles and Woolworths stores. Woolworths records roughly $99m in annual sales, Coles about $95m, Aldi $25m and Harris Farm $35m. Major tenants also include Kmart, H&M, Uniqlo, Big W, Myer, Hoyts, JB Hi-Fi, McDonald’s, KFC and Rebel Sport.

Occupancy sits at 99 per cent and the vendor has provided full rental guarantees. With site coverage of only about 26 per cent, the property offers significant scope for future development and improvement.

The asset has been placed into Fawkner’s latest wholesale fund, which targets a 7.25 per cent annual distribution and total returns exceeding 15 per cent. The fund was oversubscribed, helped by Fawkner’s policy of charging no performance fees and investing alongside its partners as the largest unitholder.

The deal continues a buying spree that has seen Fawkner acquire around $1.4bn worth of shopping centres from Lendlease in recent years, as well as assets across NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. The group has built a reputation for lifting the performance of mature centres by simplifying management structures and actively working the assets once they come under its control.