Boutique grocer QE Foodstores has come to market in Milsons Point, presenting investors with an opportunity to tap into the profits of a high-performing Sydney retailer.

The shopfront at 88 Andrew Street, which is the supermarket’s ninth offering, with other stores in Balmain, Camperdown, Darlinghurst, Newtown, Randwick, Waterloo and Waverley, is expected to fetch $5.5 million when it goes to auction in early November.

Savills Metropolitan & Regional Sales' David Hickey, Tom Tuxworth and Nick Tuxworth have been appointed to market the property, saying they expected interest from astute local, interstate and offshore investors.

“The new 10-year lease with two five-year options to renew and strong annual increases will attract buyers from local, national and international markets looking for secure, super-prime investments in the sub-$10 million category,” Mr Hickey said.

“Throughout 2018, we have seen a weight of capital chasing retail properties in prime locations, particularly in highly populated and affluent inner-urban and suburban areas.

“Investors are certainly looking for quality over quantity in the current market, and 88 Alfred Street fits that category.”

He went on to say that the QE Foodstores owners had recognised a gap in the Lower North Shore retail market for a boutique grocery store, emphasising that this could prove to be “particularly lucrative” for prospective buyers in the future.

“QE Foodstores took a strategic view on the local Milsons Point, Kirribilli, McMahons Point and Blues Point precinct when they noticed the community had been starved of a quality supermarket for a very long period of time,” Mr Hickey said.

“The business decided to venture to Sydney’s North Shore and open its ninth grocery store to cater to this pent-up demand for fresh, quality and artisan produce.

“At 88 Alfred Street, the store benefits from being situated in Sydney’s second most-liveable suburb, only a 10-minute walk from the Sydney CBD and North Sydney.”

Mr Hickey said QE Foodstores appealed directly to a growing number of affluent Baby Boomer and Millennial shoppers, “who shop more frequently with smaller basket sizes”.

“These shoppers demand personalisation, special services and quality products, which is what QE Foodstores has strived to deliver since opening its first store 16 years ago,” he said.

“The owners’ goal is to keep growing and provide a great range of products and services to many more Sydney neighbourhoods.

“They are constantly on the lookout for new sites in the inner city and east, and they’re now very seriously considering additional sites on the Lower North Shore.”