You've spent decades building a business inside four walls somewhere between Sunshine and Geelong. Now retirement is creeping closer, and there's a decision sitting quietly in the background that has nothing to do with your trade and everything to do with the real estate under your feet. Most owners focus on selling the business. Very few stop to work out what the warehouse itself could be worth as a separate, ongoing source of income.
The business and the property are two different assets
When you've traded from the same site for years, it's easy to think of the warehouse as just the place where the work happens. In reality, you're sitting on two assets. One is the business, with its goodwill, staff and client base. The other is a piece of industrial land and a building that western Melbourne tenants are actively looking for. Selling the business without a clear plan for the property often means leaving value on the table.
A retiring owner who separates the business from the property usually ends up with more options, not fewer.
Your main paths to turning bricks into income
Where retiring owners get it wrong
What a leaseback actually looks like
A leaseback is simply an agreement where you sell the freehold and immediately become the tenant, on lease terms negotiated as part of the sale. It lets you unlock the capital tied up in the building while giving you time to transition the business, retrain staff for new ownership, or simply keep trading a little longer without owning the walls.
Selling the building doesn't have to mean losing the business, if the lease is written properly.
Investors in the western corridor are often comfortable with these arrangements because a leaseback comes with a known, established tenant from day one. That can work in your favour when it's time to negotiate lease length, rent review structure and outgoings.
Getting the timing and structure right
Industrial land and buildings across the west and the Geelong corridor have been in strong demand from owner occupiers and investors alike. Understanding where the market sits before you list, lease or negotiate a leaseback puts you in a far stronger position than reacting to the first offer that lands on your desk.
How you hold the property, and how any sale proceeds or ongoing rent fit with your retirement plans, is a conversation for your accountant or financial adviser. This guide is general property information only, not financial, tax or legal advice, and Fairmont Property Group is a property agency, not a licensed financial adviser. Speak with your own qualified adviser before making any decision about super, structuring or tax.
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Fairmont only sells and leases industrial property across Melbourne's western corridor and Geelong. That focus is deliberate. It means we know the buyers who are active right now and what they are prepared to pay.