Australian Hollywood icon Chris Hemsworth is branching out from acting after buying a stake in Sydney whiskey company Archie Rose Distilling Co.

The brand, which was founded in 2014 and based in Sydney’s inner city suburbs, announced the partnership with Hemsworth on Wednesday.

Archie Rose founder Will Edwards said he hoped Hemsworth’s co-ownership would give the brand a global platform.

“Our approach has always been about championing local ingredients to create spirits that taste truly Australian,” Edwards said.

Partners… Chris Hemsworth with Archie Rose founder Will Edwards. Picture: Archie Rose

“Having Chris join the business as a co-owner allows us to bring that ambition to the world.

We aren’t just making spirits; we are using Australia’s raw materials and ingenuity as the base for producing the world’s best whisky, gin and other spirits, telling the stories of the growers and the land beneath them.”

Archie Rose is an Australian-owned business operated out of their Rosebery distillery.

The company’s commercial headquarters, best known as The Cannery at 61 Mentmore Ave, is a heritage-listed commercial and lifestyle precinct in Sydney’s inner city.

Occupying an area of 120-257 sqm of office space, the property was described on realcommercial.com.au as: “High ceilings, exposed services and polished timber floors across an open plan layout offers an exceptional prospect for businesses seeking a character space with a point of difference.”

The Marvel star said he was excited to join Archie Rose family.

Byron Bay local Chris Hemsworth is branching into the whiskey business. Picture: Instagram

“I’ve been a fan of Archie Rose for a long time. Wherever I am in the world, tasting an Archie Rose whisky immediately transports me right back home, to that feeling of sitting around a campfire in the Australian bush with my mates,” the star said.

“Their ethos of only using Australian grown malts to produce flavour packed whiskies at their Sydney distillery is truly awesome. They’re a brilliant example of what Australia does best, and I can’t wait to share that with the world.”

It is unknown how much Hemsworth paid for his stake in the company but he is expected to be heavily involved in the brand’s US launch as well as the creation of three new whiskeys for distribution across New Zealand and Asia.

Further expansion into European markets is expected in 2027.

Archie Rose has received more than 450 global awards, including World’s Best Rye Whisky, Australia’s Best Single Malt Whisky and World’s Best Gin.

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Property funds manager Charter Hall is again expanding its retail property holdings, picking up Melbourne’s well-known Tooronga Village shopping centre for $79m.

The company has identified convenience retail as a primary growth area, and the sector’s resilience is boosting its performance even as larger malls are under pressure.

The trend, which emerged ahead of the pandemic, is solidifying as consumers focus on everyday needs and shift away from discretionary spending. At the same time, large supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles are rolling out fewer centres because of rising construction costs, even though population growth is increasing.

The company is buying for its unlisted Charter Hall Convenience Retail Fund, which has attracted about $3bn of institutional backing and is targeting a $4.5bn-plus portfolio.

Charter Hall is buying the Melbourne asset from Newmark Capital, which acquired the centre from Stockland in 2019 for about $63.2m. Newmark sold five strata podium lots for $7m in 2021-22 and returned capital to investors at that time.

Newmark boosted the centre’s income and the sale is a strong result for investors.

The Tooronga Village deal will show a capitalisation rate of about 5.75 per cent. The move to expand the vehicle came as Charter Hall chief executive David Harrison nominated the sector as a key area for his business’s expansion.

Charter Hall is stepping up its property purchasing at a time when few others are in the market and many rival players are making bids contingent on raising capital to complete deals.

Tooronga Village is a 7724sq m neighbourhood centre anchored by Coles, alongside two mini-majors, 20 specialty stores, five kiosks, an ATM, car wash and extensive basement parking. It serves the blue-chip areas of Toorak, Malvern, Hawthorn, Kooyong and Glen Iris.

The off-market deal was negotiated by Tim McIntosh and Will Heffernan from Colliers, and Stonebridge Property Group’s Justin Dowers and Kevin Tong.

Mr McIntosh said the centre’s strong trading fundamentals and strategic positioning in Melbourne’s inner east attracted Charter Hall’s interest.

“Tooronga Village is anchored by a highly productive Coles supermarket, with the centre sales productivity above $17,000 per square metre, ranking the centre as one of the highest performing neighbourhoods in inner metropolitan Melbourne,” he said. “Assets of this calibre are tightly held and rarely traded, particularly within Melbourne’s inner eastern suburbs, making it a highly valuable investment proposition.”

Mr Dowers said the sale reflected the continued institutional demand for dominant convenience retail assets within affluent metropolitan catchments.

“High-quality neighbourhood shopping centres continue to attract significant investor interest, driven by strong population growth, resilient supermarket performance and limited incoming new supply,” he said.

Mr Dowers said the strong rental growth experienced across the neighbourhood shopping centre sector was driving substantial capital reweighting into convenience retail. This transaction alongside the recent sales of Burwood Brickworks and Coles and Aldi Kilmore amounted to more than $220m of Melbourne neighbourhood centre transactions in the past two months.

Charter Hall is separately buying Yeppoon Central shopping centre on the state’s Capricorn Coast from developer Laurence Lancini. The Woolworths-anchored subregional shopping centre is selling for more than $70m and will show a yield of about 6.5 per cent.

Charter Hall has been the top buyer of convenience retail assets this year and its purchases include $250m worth of centres in Queensland and NSW bought from Vicinity Centres.

Last year, it bought the Burwood One Shopping Centre in Melbourne for $210m and bought Southport Park from billionaire John Van Lieshout for $152.5m.

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