Shopping Centre

Billions of dollars worth of property could be sold off by major mall owners Scentre, which runs the local Westfield empire, and rival Vicinity Centres, as they battle a permanent fall off in values, Citi has warned.

One of the country’s biggest shopping centre owners, Scentre Group, has unveiled a new contactless drive-through service for its Westfield mall retail tenants at as it strives to keep shoppers coming back amid the pandemic that has turned many malls into ghost towns.

Some of the nation’s largest property developers and owners are concerned that the NSW government’s $440 million commercial and residential tenancy code of conduct could financially hurt big and small landlords.

Australia’s large retail landlords face a harsh fight with their anchor tenants over their lease terms, which are not covered by a new leasing code released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Shopping centre giant Scentre, that runs Westfield centres, has called for retailers in its complexes to open if they can, in the wake of a series of chains and small operators deserting its malls despite the complexes being dubbed an essential service by the federal government.

A Melbourne shopping centre more than 12 months from completion was Realcommercial’s unlikely runaway top property last week, while industrial assets continue to gather steam as online shopping takes hold.

Shopping centre owners and tenants have been urged to quickly come to a fresh agreement that includes sharing the pain of losses suffered during the coronavirus crisis after federal cabinet rejected an initial scheme developed by retailers and landlords in a surprise move on Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg were getting the same message as me: an all out, no holds barred “dog-eat-dog” war had broken out between commercial tenants and landlords.

Westfield owner the Scentre Group has received a share market boost after announcing it has secured more bank facilities in a move that lifts its liquidity position to $3.1 billion over the next two years.