Former Haigh's Chocolates factory listed with hopes of about $10 million

It was constructed not long after he moved his permanent shop from King William Street to Rundle Mall’s Beehive Corner building in 1922, where it still operates today after almost 100 years.

The chocolate factory was not far from Haigh’s flagship store at the Beehive Corner in Rundle Mall in the 1920s. Photo: Fairfax archives

While the confectioner is associated with the Beehive Corner building among locals, it was at the former Haigh’s Building where the chocolates were made.

It has been recognised as one of few surviving multi-storey structures from the early 20th century in Rundle Mall, according to the City of Adelaide council’s profile of the building.

The council funded a restoration of the heritage-listed building’s façade in 2016, as part of its Heritage Incentives Scheme.

Investors, through the company Hongwei Investment Holding Pty Ltd, bought the property for $9.6 million in 2010, Domain Group records show.

The property, also known as Garko House, occupies 313 square metres and comes with more than 1500 square metres of floor space.

The building is heritage listed and is on 313 square metres. Photo: Domain Group

If sold for the expected $10 million, the land rate for the property would be about $32,000 a square metre. It is being sold with vacant possession, which means it is not tenanted.

Savills Australia selling agents Peter Isaksson and Rino Carpinelli are fielding interest from both local and international buyers.

“Buyers are presented with an opportunity to secure an intergenerational flagship asset in Australia’s best performing pedestrian malls,” Mr Isaksson said.

“In today’s tightly held market, a Rundle Mall asset will rarely become available and for the past 10 years, there have been very few assets traded.”

The last time a property in Rundle Mall traded was in January 2018, when an Adelaide family snapped up the 318-square-metre site at number 109 for $9.17 million, through the company Duke Group of Companies.

That asset sold on a 6 per cent yield, with a rental income of more than $550,000 a year.

Rundle Mall attracts more than 400,000 visitors a week with its global brand tenancy mix, Mr Isaksson said.

He added that commercial properties in Adelaide were becoming appealing to buyers thanks to tax cuts implemented from July 2018 and stronger yields compared with those on the east coast.

“South Australia is now the only state in Australia that has no stamp duty on commercial property transactions, further increasing its attractiveness to investors, particularly foreign investors,” he said.

Retail property rents in the Adelaide CBD averaged $3138 a square metre, CBRE Research figures show, while yields tightened by 35 basis points to 5 per cent in the 12 months to August 2018.

And across CBDs in Australia, shopping-centre investors from overseas outnumbered domestic buyers in 2018, with the total mall sales volume at about $500 million.

The former Haigh’s factory is directly opposite Rundle Mall Plaza, which is in the finishing stage of its $40 million redevelopment, with South Australia’s first H&M store.