Retail

The coronavirus pandemic has sparked a fresh surge in interest in properties where big name brands like 7-11, Freedom and Coles pay the mortgage for you.

Melbourne-based IP Generation has swooped on Mildura Central shopping centre in the regional Victorian town in an $81.1 million play showing the heat in the small shopping centre market.

Private investors priced out of bigger Bunnings Warehouse deals are chasing a rare opportunity to secure one of the popular investments – and at a more affordable price point.

An investor has picked up a property in a ‘hot little pocket’ of the coast shared by a well-known diamond wholesaler and a licenced brothel for $2.55m.

The strong performance of smaller shopping centres across the nation’s suburbs could prompt property giant Vicinity Centres to sell its holdings or spin them off into a new trust comprising a $1.6bn portfolio, ­according to Morgan Stanley ­analysts.

Local investment powerhouse QIC has sold two major retail centres for a combined $163m in recent days amid a hot market for home improvement centres.

Sales of shopping centres are picking up, with wealthy local ­investors leading the charge in buying some supermarket-based centres and increasingly larger assets that are recovering from the crisis.

Scentre Group, owner of the local Westfield mall empire, has drawn fire from two major proxy houses that have recommended against its remuneration report at its ­annual general meeting to be held on Thursday.

Sydney’s commercial market is also heating up with one property investor paying an incredible price to secure an Adidas outlet store in Lidcombe.