Pakuranga Plaza in East Auckland has been sold to Singapore-based investors who have strong ties to New Zealand.

The centre, one of NZ’s longest established shopping hubs, has been sold for $96 million to Stanley Tan, CEO of Global Yellow Pages and Pan Yoke Min of Southeast Asian investment group GYP Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Yellow Pages.

Flagship retailers Farmers, The Warehouse and Countdown are part of the community orientated retail and business hub, which has undergone extensive renovations over the past 18 months by vendors Ross and Dallas Pendergrast of Ladstone Holdings.

The shopping centre was sold by way of private treaty through Bayleys Real Estate.

The new owners have committed to the vendors’ vision for the plaza, which is for the complex to serve as a shopping centre that identifies strongly with the Pakuranga and Howick communities.

Established in 1965, the complex includes the main shopping mall and four level Plaza Tower with office tenants, the Warehouse plaza with a specialty retail strip, and a standalone Plaza business centre.

Stanley Tan said there is also a multitude of opportunities for development of the site, including the possibility of hotels, residential accomodation, office blocks and on-site entertainment.

The level of interest in the property reflected the potential of the site to accrue value naturally with population growth and improvements in transport infrastructure, David Bayley, Bayleys Real Estate executive director, said.

“However, there is also scope to capitalise on the existing plaza by adding residential accommodation in line with zoning changes included in the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan.”