Coles – land around supermarket site in Balaclava, VIC

Coles Group Limited (Coles) is an Australian public company (ASX: COL) that primarily operates:

supermarkets nationwide through its subsidiary, Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, and

retail liquor stores nationwide, trading under the Liquorland, Liquorland Warehouse and Liquorland Cellars brands.

Coles also has a property development arm, Coles Group Property Developments Ltd (CGPD), that buys land and constructs shopping centres, standalone supermarkets and/or liquor outlets and then sells these completed sites to third party buyers.

The Port Phillip City Council (Council) is the local government authority overseeing the City of Port Phillip, an area in inner Melbourne including the suburbs of Albert Park, Balaclava, Elwood, part of the Melbourne CBD, Middle Park, part of Port Melbourne, Ripponlea, South Melbourne, Southbank, St Kilda, St Kilda East, St Kilda West and Windsor.

Coles currently operates a full line supermarket and a Liquorland store at the intersection of Alfred Street and Camden Street, Balaclava VIC 3183. Coles owns the land on which these stores are situated, along with several adjoining parcels (including land leased to other retailers and sections of the carpark behind the supermarket).

Balaclava is a suburb within the City of Port Phillip local government area in Victoria, situated approximately 8 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD.

The Council has offered to sell Coles a number of adjacent Council-owned parcels of land located at Nelson Street and Alfred Street to facilitate a significant revitalisation of the Balaclava precinct. This will involve the development of a new mixed-use retail and residential precinct. CGPD intends to enter into an unconditional contract of sale with the Council (the Acquisition).

The land proposed for sale includes part of the carpark adjacent to the Coles supermarket area enclosed by Carlisle, Alfred, Nelson, and Camden Streets, and some laneways that will be discontinued, which is approximately 2,240 sqm of land in total.