The freehold properties underpinning a growing childcare centre that has served the Central Hawke’s Bay town of Waipukurau for 35 years have been put up for sale.

Scallywaggs Kindergarten & Care has been an integral part of community life and a prominent presence on Waipukurau’s Russell Street since it was first licensed in 1988.

Originally catering for 35 children with one qualified teacher, the privately owned and operated facility now employs 25 qualified teachers, along with educators and support staff providing early childhood education and care services from several adjacent sites.

The properties at 5-13 Russell Street are now being offered to investors under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement, with a new expansion taking the centre’s capacity from the current 131 childcare placements to 166 placements upon settlement.

The leaseback of the more than 5,000-square-metre combined site will see Scallywaggs take up a new nine-year lease with three further six-year rights of renewal and market rent reviews every three years.

The premises will return an annual net rental income of $290,500 plus outgoings and GST.

The freehold land and buildings at 5-13 Russell Street, Waipukurau, are being marketed for sale by Mark Evans of Bayleys Napier.

The properties will go under the hammer at an auction on Friday 7th July, unless they are sold prior.

“Scallywaggs is a long-established childcare operation which has thrived and grown at this location in the heart of the Waipukurau community. The sale and leaseback will allow the operator to re-invest in its business for ongoing success,” said Evans.

“As a passive investment, this represents an outstanding opportunity that is sure to bring strong interest from both local and out-of-region buyers.”

The Russell Street childcare centre comprises multiple buildings across five addresses on three separate freehold titles.

These include two purpose-built buildings, one of which is a gymnasium constructed in 2002 which hosts unique preschool gym sessions for two-to five-year-olds, along with several converted residential buildings.

“Together, the premises provide a top quality early childcare facility with extensive soft fall and water play areas, a small orchard and paddock play areas, climbing structures and shade shelters located between the various buildings.

“Shading throughout the facility from established and well-maintained trees helps to create an exceptional natural early childhood environment which very few centres can match,” said Evans.

The original buildings are a mix of 1930s timber-framed and 1940s stucco structures which have been thoughtfully converted to create a purpose-built centre some 35 years ago. These are well presented with a high standard of internal decoration with natural timber joinery. Recent modernisation has seen upgrades to 7 and 9 Russell Street in 2017 and 13 Russell Street in 2023.

With a total floor area of approximately 1,130 square metres, the well-maintained buildings are underpinned by some 5,057 square metres of freehold land with high-profile frontage to Russell Street.

“The centre provides plenty of off-street parking for parents and staff. With easy access to the town centre and surrounding residential areas, it is ideally located to service its client base and the wider region with nearby access to State Highway 2,” Evans said.

Scallywaggs currently provides 131 childcare placements at 5-11 Russell Street. Another 35 spaces will be added upon completion of improvements to 13 Russell Street, providing a total of 166 across the five-property facility upon settlement.

The Russell Street properties are zoned ‘Township’ by Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, a zoning that includes small towns with a mixture of living, business, community and productive uses.

“Centrally located one block northeast of the main retail precinct, Scallywaggs is well-positioned to cater to a large catchment. It is one of two main childcare facilities in Waipukurau, the main township in Central Hawke’s Bay, a region which is experiencing strong economic and population growth,” said Evans. Evans said childcare was increasingly seen as an attractive long-term investment option, with the added security that comes with a large proportion of operators’ revenue being government funded.

“The 2023 Budget showed further government support for this sector, with $1.2 billion over four years to extend 20 hours of free early childhood education to two-year-olds from 1 March 2024. The Government already fully funds 20 hours of care a week for children aged three to five.

“A further $322 million will be available to early childcare education services to lift the pay for teachers, which will help providers to attract and retain quality staff,” Evans said.

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