Mirvac retail declines 10 per cent The value of the retail property portfolio of Mirvac Group has dropped 9.9 per cent, or $349 million, in fiscal 2020, hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Retail is the group’s second-largest property asset class. “COVID-19 has transformed the world in the space of a few short months,” Mirvac CEO and managing director Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said in an ASX statement. “No sector has been untouched by the health and economic crises that have develo
developed.”
However, Mirvac’s office and industrial property valuations lifted. For the full year, the office portfolio looks to be up 3.4 per cent, or $231 million, while industrial asset values have risen by 3.6 per cent, or $33 million.
Overall, the reduction is about 2.8 per cent from the December 31 book value of $11.6 billion in preliminary unaudited results.
Mirvac will release its financial results on August 20, at which time it will provide a comprehensive review of FY20 performance.
HomeCo value rises 5.2 per cent
Home Consortium (HomeCo), a property group that manages 30 shopping centres across Australia, showed a preliminary unaudited portfolio valuation increase of 5.2 per cent, or $49 million, compared with December 2019, for a value of $1.014 billion.
The report to the ASX comprises 15 independent valuations representing 50 per cent of its properties by number and 53 per cent of the June 30 preliminary unaudited portfolio valuation, with the remaining 15 properties to be completed by internal valuation.
“The preliminary valuation result is positive and reflects the quality and resilience of HomeCo’s hyper-convenience model and the increasing exposure to daily needs and services tenants,” HomeCo executive chairman and CEO David Di Pilla told Shopping Centre News.
“Foot traffic trends at the centres have continued to be positive with an increase of 9 per cent and 17 per cent for the months of May and June 2020,” he added.
SMEs win rental assistance
Shopping centre owners and SME retailers have reached more than 6400 agreements for rental assistance within the nine-week period from March 30 to May 31, the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) said.
In the last two weeks of the period, more than 150 agreements were being reached per day, the SCCA said.
“Rental relief is getting through to those who need it most,” SCCA executive director Angus Nardi told Shopping Centre News. “The increasing volume of agreements illustrates that the Commercial Tenancy Code of Conduct announced by the Prime Minister on April 7 is working, and our industry and SME retailers are reaching practical solutions to address the challenging economic circumstances.”
Approximately 80 per cent of all SMEs have requested rental assistance, highlighting that 20 per cent of SMEs have traded well. SME retail stores in the surveyed shopping centres represent 63 per cent of total stores, Nardi said.
