Kennards Hire Pukekohe site heads to auction

The high-profile main road property housing multinational equipment hire business Kennards Hire in fast-growing Pukekohe is going under the hammer.

The more than 6,600-square-metre site for sale on Manukau Road, in the town’s bulk retail hub, has been home to Kennards Hire since 2013. The recently renewed lease runs through to 2028, with a further three-year right of renewal.

This will deliver new owners an annual net rental income of $304,800 plus outgoings and GST.

From humble beginnings with a single store front in the 1940s, Kennards has grown into Australasia’s largest family-owned equipment hire business. It has an international network of 210 branches, more than 1,900 employees, and annual revenues topping $670 million.

The company’s extensive inventory of tools, machinery and specialist equipment serves customers ranging from residential DIY users to top contractors on major infrastructure or commercial construction projects.

Kennards’ Pukekohe base goes on the market as the equipment hire sector shows particular resilience in a challenging economy. It also benefits from a strategic location in a booming Franklin area whose expansion is driving huge construction activity.

The company’s business model capitalises on a trend in which rising capital costs and supply chain volatility are driving construction firms towards hiring, rather than owning, equipment. This shift was highlighted in Kennards’ 2025 Construction Confidence Check, which found 91 percent of industry leaders remain confident in sector stability.

The freehold land and buildings at 198 Manukau Road, Pukekohe, will go under the hammer at an auction on Tuesday 14 April, unless sold prior.

The property is being marketed for sale by Mike Hook and Shane Snijder of Bayleys Pukekohe.

Three low-maintenance buildings with a combined floor area (including canopies) of approximately 1,339 square metres are underpinned by a freehold landholding of some 6,629 square metres. The site’s profile is maximised by more than 35 metres of frontage to busy arterial Manukau Road.

Business – Light Industry zoning under Auckland’s unitary plan permits wide-ranging activities including storage, logistics, transport, distribution and manufacturing.

Hook said the immediate Pukekohe area was attracting massive construction, with projects including Franklin Hospital, Ebbetts Motors, Bunnings Trade Centre, Pukekohe Toyota and a new Franklin Day Surgery medical centre.

“This surge in capital investment underscores the market's confidence in this location as a premier commercial hub. The heart of Pukekohe is a coveted location for tenants to cater to a dynamic and growing catchment,” Hook said.

With a population of more than 27,000, Pukekohe is an important service centre for its rural surrounds and workers at the Glenbrook Steel Mill. It is also gaining popularity as an Auckland ‘dormitory town’ and commuter base.

“Real estate investments here benefit from being within a wider Franklin area which is seeing explosive growth as a southern focus of Auckland’s regional expansion, combined with a limited supply of commercial property for sale,” said Hook.

Snijder said population growth was driving numerous large-scale developments, along with huge public investment in infrastructure.

“Key projects include a 360-hectare mixed-use precinct focusing residential and industrial development beside the Southern Motorway at Drury South, Kiwi Income Property Trust’s planned Drury town centre, and Fisher & Paykel’s $275 million purchase of 100-plus hectares for a new research and development campus,” he said.

Other large developments include the Paerata Rise lifestyle township, creating 4,500 homes between Karaka and Pukekohe, and the Auranga project which aims to deliver 2,650 dwellings west of Drury village.

“With more than 40,000 new homes and 38,000 jobs on the way in the next three decades, scale and demand in Franklin is going to another level. This positions the area as a prime target for future-proof investment returns," Snijder said.