This week, we cover a pre-sale arrangement, a new product winner and an acquisition.
Hanley Investment Group arranges sale of single-tenant Quick Quack
RICHMOND, Texas — According to a press release, Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, recently announced that the firm arranged the pre-sale of a new-construction, single-tenant Quick Quack Car Wash in the Houston metro area.
The sale represents a cap rate of 5.39%, which is a record-low cap rate for an express carwash net-lease transaction outside of California, stated the press release.
In the last 18 months, Hanley Investment Group has sold more than $92.4 million of single-tenant carwash properties across the country, bringing Hanley Investment’s total value of carwash properties sold, in escrow and listed for sale to over $180 million, making Hanley Investment Group the most active brokerage company in the net-lease carwash sector, added the press release.
Hanley Investment Group’s Vice President Austin Blodgett, in association with ParaSell Inc., represented the seller, Read King Commercial, based in Houston, in this transaction, noted the release; this is Blodgett’s eighth express carwash sale in the last eight months.
The buyer, a private investor based in California, was represented by Jason Hernandez of Marcus & Millichap in San Francisco, continued the press release.
Expected to open in November, Quick Quack Car Wash is located within the brand-new Waterview Town Center at 19311 West Bellfort Blvd. in Richmond, added the release.
Blodgett states, “All of the buyers that inquired on this property were immediately drawn in by the location of this shopping center, and the affluence of the surrounding neighborhoods. Within a one-mile radius of the subject property, there are numerous brand-new single-family and multi-family home developments; Richmond is an extremely high-growth trade area. All of this, coupled with the strength of the tenant, resulted in multiple offers within just days of bringing this deal to market.
“This transaction demonstrates the strong demand for new-construction net-lease retail assets in Texas, along with the strength of the growing express carwash buyer pool. The fact that the tenant continued to pay rent, despite a global pandemic speaks to the strength of the carwash industry as a whole, and how express carwashes will be poised for long-term success despite economic uncertainty.
“We will continue to push for aggressive cap rates nationwide on net-lease carwash offerings as buyers become more familiar with this asset type. We expect that the supply of net-leased carwashes will continue to increase over the next 12 months as developers and operators continue to take advantage of this low-cap rate environment.”
Be sure to check out our video interview below with Hanley Investment Group’s Jeff Lefko on real estate trends and how they affect operators.
Belanger’s Cube® Soft-Touch IBA system wins best new product contest
DE PERE, Wis. — According to a company press release, Belanger is proud to announce its Cube® Soft-Touch In-Bay Automatic Wash System has been named the winner in the Car Wash/Forecourt category of CSP magazine’s 17th Annual Retailer Choice Best New Product Contest.
The winners of the contest, which honors the c-store industry’s most successful product launches from the past year, are chosen via an online poll of c-store retailers.
The Cube’s victory was celebrated during a Virtual Best New Product Happy Hour that was hosted by CSP on Oct. 14, and it will be honored in print in the upcoming December issue of CSPmagazine, added the release.
“We were incredibly excited to learn that our Cube vehicle wash system had been chosen as the winner of CSP’s contest by the retailers,” said Gary Campbell, general manager for OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions. “The needs of any vehicle-wash customer are simple — provide customers with a cleaner car and do so efficiently. But the Cube’s capabilities go well beyond that. The Cube is a truly unique IBA wash system, one that checks every box for a high-quality, reliable, cost-effective, safe and enjoyable vehicle-washing experience.”
In addition to providing a cleaner vehicle, the Cube does its job quietly and without the commotion that can come from brushes beating against the surfaces of the vehicle; the Cube utilizes slow-spinning friction wheels and Belanger’s ShineMitt foam media to reduce noise levels and thoroughly clean the vehicle with gentle brush passes, continued the release.
The Cube also features a host of “smart” technology systems, allowing it to be precise, intuitive and flexible while providing the best possible cleaning result for each customer, stated the release.
According to the press release, the Cube also offers remote-access capabilities, patented LED-enhanced wheels and spray arms that cycle through six colors to provide Active Site Marketing™, and an innovative scissor-arm top wheel that precisely lowers to the vehicle and covers more area along the front, top and rear of the vehicle.
To learn more about the Cube Soft-Touch In-Bay Automatic Wash System from Belanger, please visit opwglobal.com/belanger.
Belanger is part of OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions (VWS).
To learn more about VWS, please visit opwvws.com.
Mobile Tech RX announces acquisition of Claimbot
AUSTIN, Texas — According to a company press release, Mobile Tech RX recently announced the acquisition of Claimbot, the virtual chat engine built for the automotive industry.
The acquisition marks an innovative step forward for Mobile Tech RX, as the growing software company strives to help auto recon businesses acquire more business and increase revenue, noted the release.
Mobile Tech RX users will soon be able to utilize Claimbot’s chat engine — powered by artificial intelligence — to automate conversations with potential customers who visit their websites and Facebook pages, added the release.
These automated chats will help businesses gather information from potential customers and deliver work estimates and schedule appointments in real-time, without any work required from employees, continued the release.
Instead of relying on website forms, text messages and inbound phone calls to generate new business, the Claimbot and Mobile Tech RX synergy will help business owners streamline their lead generation processes, according to the press release.
“The auto recon industry is primed for a leap forward,” said Mobile Tech RX CEO and Co-Founder, Eric Garves. “Adding Claimbot’s automated chatbot technology to the Mobile Tech RX platform will help technicians and business owners focus on their core competencies and leave time-intensive and repetitive tasks for a chatbot. Mobile Tech RX’s acquisition of Claimbot will push the industry forward into greater efficiency and innovation, and it will help businesses scale.”
“Businesses can no longer rely on foot traffic and must provide scalable, self service solutions for their customers to request service. Integrating with Mobile Tech RX makes triggering an estimate and scheduling a job just a couple clicks away,” said Claimbot Founder/CEO Miguel Fernandez.
