Shopping Centre

The John Bond-led Primewest has snapped up an office block and a shopping centre in Western Australia in deals worth $65m in total as it buys fresh assets that will add to its $4 billion property funds empire.

National retailer Harris Scarfe will shut more than 20 stores across Australia after the company was placed in receivership.

Competitive e-sports spaces, VR experiences and a quick commute to a co-working space could become part of your shopping experience as malls look to fill the gap created by department store downsizing.

Vicinity Centres chief operating officer Peter Huddle has one of the biggest tasks in Australian retail property. He is responsible for driving the performance of some of the best luxury malls in the country — including Sydney’s much-loved QVB and Melbourne’s landmark Chadstone — while also turning around some of Vicinity’s less glamorous properties.

A smattering of retail landlords will be scrambling to renegotiate leases with the receivers of fallen retail homewares chain Harris Scarfe.

The shopping centre industry has been bolstered by the sale of a half-stake in one of Perth’s largest properties, the $1.1bn Garden City, to local Westfield owner, the Scentre Group.

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Major retail landlords are coming under pressure from the sluggish performance of anchor tenants, which are dragging on overall complexes even as some areas hold up.

Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre, co-owned by billionaire John Gandel and the listed Vicinity Centres, is set for a makeover with its owners submitting plans for development worth more than $600 million.