The California-based Reading International has announced the acquisition of the Cannon Park City Centre and the Cannon Park Discount Centre in Townsville, Queensland, Australia for a total of $23.0 million.
"We are pleased to enhance our portfolio with the acquisition of these properties, which is consistent with our strategic priority of owning the real estate underlying our cinema assets," said Ellen Cotter, Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of Reading International. "The properties are 98.7 percent occupied, providing stable cash flows with upside potential from our ability to capture growth in the local market and upgrade the facilities. Additionally, we intend to operate the two properties as a single entertainment-themed retail center, which would mark the fourth ETRC owned and operated by Reading in Australia and New Zealand."
According to their press release in Business WIre, the Cannon Park City Centre is an entertainment-themed real estate asset with three mini-major tenants, and ten specialty family-oriented restaurant tenants, and is anchored with Reading International's affiliate, Reading Cinemas. Meanwhile, the Cannon Park Discount Centre is anchored by Kingpin Bowling and is supported by four other retailers. The 133,000 square feet properties are located approximately 0.6 miles from downtown Townsville, the second largest city in Queensland, Australia.
"Cannon Park is complementary to our Australian real estate portfolio and a testament to the synergies between our entertainment and real estate businesses," said Matthew Bourke, Director of Real Estate. "We continue to execute on our strategy of enhancing Reading's portfolio of real estate assets with this acquisition. Townsville is a strong and growing market, with a diverse economy and attractive demand drivers. We believe the Cannon Park properties are well-positioned to create value for Reading shareholders by leveraging the growth dynamics in their markets and our operational expertise."
Reading International is expecting that the acquired property will bring about accretive earnings and contribute approximately $0.03 to EPS in 2016.
The transaction was financed with existing cash on hand.
