This United branded petrol station in Sydney's Yagoona sold for $4.82 million at auction. Photo: Supplied

Bidding war leads to $4.82m Yagoona service station sale

Jack Needham|Apr 16, 2019

The relaxed demeanour of the fresh-faced, recently graduated man at the back of the room gave no hint that he was about to part with almost $5 million.

Johnson Chin, buying with parents Man Wah Chin and Suk On Li Chin, coolly raised his hand again and again at Tuesday’s Burgess Rawson auction as a bidding war developed from an opening price of $3.8 million for a petrol station in Yagoona, in south-west Sydney.

Auctioneer David Scholes’ hammer eventually fell at $4.82 million, ending more than 10 minutes of bidding and signalling that Mr Chin had finally won out against an unnamed and persistent phone bidder.

Mr Chin said that the prospect of a “stable, long-term lease” in a “good location with good land” was what convinced the Hong Kong-based family to stick in there.

Johnson Chin with father Man Wah Chin and Suk On Li Chin. Photo: Commercial Real Estate

The Australian-educated Mr Chin said his family already owned a portfolio of Sydney retail properties, but the hunt for stable cash flow had convinced them of the merits of purchasing their first service station.

The United station, at 100 Rookwood Road, Yagoona, came with an annual income of around $240,000 and a 20-year lease to 2036 with options to 2061.

It wasn’t the only service station on the shopping list of the Chin family, who relocated to Hong Kong from Australia for business reasons, and it likely won’t be their last – so long as the “price and the location are right”, according to Mr Chin.

The Yagoona station was one of five service stations to go under the hammer at Tuesday’s auction at Doltone House in the CBD.

Another United-leased station in the suburb of Dee Why edged out Yagoona for top dollar, selling to a northern beaches buyer who wished to remain anonymous for a massive $7.2 million – the best result of the day.

Burgess Rawson director Simon Staddon said recent sharemarket volatility was increasingly pushing investors seeking stability – the majority of which purchase via their self-managed super fund – towards the asset class.

He said the United property portfolio – split between Melbourne and Sydney – had received more than 400 inquiries.

“There’s a massive appetite for 20-year leases to brand name tenants like United across the board of asset classes, particularly when they occupy valuable main road locations and are underpinned by land values,” Mr Staddon said.

“Both Dee Why and Yagoona are strong trading sites, which an inspection by prospective buyers instantly confirmed.”

Auction results: