Shopping Centre

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.

Shopping centre owners have been slammed by the latest clampdown on retail in Victoria with restrictions hitting larger regional shopping malls particularly hard as they rely on discretionary retail and department stores.

Stage 4 restrictions are in place across metropolitan Melbourne as the city attempts to slow the spread of COVID-19.

International shopping centre giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has pushed back billions worth of development projects and will look to sell more malls as it deals with the coronavirus crisis.

The pain in the retail sector has been put on stark display with Chadstone co-owner Vicinity Centres slashing the value of its entire portfolio by nearly $2bn as the coronavirus pandemic discourages shoppers from visiting shopping centres.

Arnold Vitocco received a big scare a week ago, when the Narellan Town Centre shopping centre he owns with billionaire Tony Perich and their respective families was named as one of Sydney’s COVID-19 “hot spots”.

Average retail rents at shopping centre properties owned by listed mall giants Scentre Group and Vicinity Centres will be clipped by 15 to 18% compared to pre-COVID levels as stores close, consumers continue to shift to online shopping and the “new normal” of social distancing measures takes hold, according to analysis from Morgan Stanley.