RetailLindsay SaundersMon 27 Jul 26
IFM Expands Retail Bet with $300m Melbourne Shopping Centre Deal
Funds managed by IFM Investors have struck a deal to acquire a $300-million portfolio of four neighbourhood shopping centres under development in Melbourne’s growth corridors.
The centres, which are being developed and built by Oreana, are at Mickleham, Deanside, Werribee and Eynesbury in Melbourne’s expanding northern and western suburbs.
The transaction was introduced and managed by retail investment specialist Fawkner Property Group.
It is the first acquisition under a new strategic partnership between IFM, Oreana and Fawkner Property, with the assets expected to have a combined end value of about $300 million once completed.
The portfolio comprises Botanical Village at Mickleham, which opened in March; along with Deanside Central, Riverwalk Town Centre at Werribee and Eynesbury Village, all of which are under construction and due for completion during the next 18 months.
The acquisition adds to IFM’s growing retail real estate platform, which comprises more than 50 convenience shopping centres nationally.
The asset manager has increasingly focused on supermarket-anchored neighbourhood centres, arguing they provide resilient income through exposure to non-discretionary spending and rapidly growing suburban catchments.
IFM Investors executive director of funds management Kate Mathewson said the transaction reflected confidence in convenience retail.
“The future of retail growth sits with local and neighbourhood centres in high-growth areas,” Mathewson said.
“The ones that succeed will prioritise walkability, convenience, community connection and complementary non-retail uses that bring people together.
“With these four assets sitting in above average population growth corridors, local shopping offers a strong proposition to institutional investors.”
Botanical Village comprises 7400sq m of gross lettable area anchored by Coles, alongside 25 specialty stores and an Aspire Early Learning and Kindergarten centre.
Deanside Central will provide 8200sq m of retail space and become the suburb’s first shopping centre when completed. Riverwalk Town Centre will span 6400sq m, while Eynesbury Village will comprise 6700sq m after Oreana acquired the project from Resimax Group in 2025.
Oreana managing director Tony Sass said neighbourhood centres had become an essential piece of infrastructure for greenfield communities.
“Developments like these play a vital role in building and uniting greenfield communities, offering residents a shared space to meet, connect and truly feel at home in their growing neighbourhood,” Sass said.
Fawkner Property executive director Patch Garnaut said the transaction expanded the group’s relationship with both IFM and Oreana, with the firms now having partnered on or managed the acquisition of eight neighbourhood shopping centres over the past two years.
The deal comes as investor appetite for supermarket-anchored retail assets remains strong despite broader uncertainty across commercial property markets, with limited new supply and sustained population growth in Melbourne’s outer suburbs continuing to support demand for neighbourhood shopping centres.
This month, IFM Investors and UniSuper won approval for the 280ha Burrah Park industrial and logistics estate, the largest of its kind to be approved in the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
The NSW Government waved ahead the State Significant Development to rise on a rise next to the new Western Sydney International Airport entrance and the emerging Bradfield City Centre.
And in March, the initial stage of IFM's $1.1-billion industrial development in Melbourne’s south-east was waved ahead for the 62.3ha estate at 265 Dandenong Hastings Road, Lyndhurst, about 45km from the city centre.
