Shopping Centre

Retail landlord HomeCo is defying the coronavirus pandemic by looking to expand its empire of convenience retail stores beyond the former Masters sites it has redeveloped, and is seeking major acquisitions in western Sydney.

Scentre Group, owner of the local Westfield empire, has fired a fresh shot in the broader battle between landlords and tenants, saying it has collected 86% of rents in August.

The prospect of more lockdowns across Australia to control the coronavirus pandemic has prompted a warning from credit agency Moody’s Investors Service that virus flare-ups and weak consumer sentiment are delaying retail sector recovery.

Mosaic Brands chief executive Scott Evans, who plans to close hundreds of stores, has a simple message for shopping centre landlords who refuse to give ground on rent: “This is not a bluff.”

The battle between shopping centre landlords and retailers is entering a new and potentially more dangerous phase as the country’s largest listed retail property company signals it will take a tough line on larger chains refusing to pay rent.

The normally subterranean battle between shopping centre owners and hard-pressed tenants burst into ugly view this week, with much more at stake than the usual tough talk between business rivals.

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments has hit back at criticism of its hardline tactic of not paying rent when it closed stores during the coronavirus pandemic and for receiving the JobKeeper subsidy, and will close a store in a Melbourne mall co-owned by Salta Properties, which had called out the retail chain.

The SCA Property Group, that owns supermarkets and small shopping centres, has become the latest trust to be slugged by ongoing uncertainty driven by the second wave of the coronavirus in Melbourne.

The uncertainty generated by Melbourne’s second lockdown will drag on the retail landlords exposed to the Victorian capital with many still dealing with outstanding rent disputes from the first lockdown with heavyweight GPT Group warning of a deep impact of the strict regime.