SHOPPING CENTRES – AUSTRALIA

World Square sale caps $7.6b investment surge

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 57 : 23-Dec-15

Some $A7.6bn worth of shopping centres have changed hands in 2015, including a record $A2.7bn in the fourth quarter. In one of the latest deals, ISPT will pay $A285m for a 50 per cent stake in Sydney’s World Square shopping centre. Other groups that have been active in Australia’s retail property sector in recent months include Blackstone, AMP Capital, Vicinity Centres and Challenger.

CORPORATES
ISPT PTY LTD, BLACKSTONE REAL ESTATE ADVISORS LLC, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, ABU DHABI INVESTMENT COMPANY, WORLD SQUARE PTY LTD, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, CITY OF SYDNEY, SHOPPING CENTRE NEWS

Vicinity to sell up to $1b of mall assets

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan, Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 15-Dec-15

Australian-listed Vicinity Centres plans to divest between $A750m and $A1bn worth of shopping centres during the next 12 months. Proceeds of the asset sales will be used to reduce debt, finance acquisitions and be reinvested in the redevelopment of its other assets. Vicinity has identified one bulky goods property in Queensland that it intends to sell, and CEO Angus McNaughton has flagged an exit from this asset class.

CORPORATES
VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, NOVION PROPERTY GROUP, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, WARRIEWOOD SHOPPING CENTRE

Australia’s Top 20 favourite Shopping Centres

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 85 per cent of Australians aged 14+ (16.5 million people) shopped at one or more shopping centres in an average four-week period in the year to June 2015. Some 396,000 Australians shop at Melbourne’s Chadstone each month, ahead of Westfield Parramatta in Sydney (385,000), Melbourne Central (307,000) and Westfield Chermside in Brisbane (303,000). Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says department stores, large retail chains and supermarkets have outlets in many, if not all, of the country’s main shopping centres – and yet each location might cater to a very different set of customers. As a result, you can expect vastly different sales results unless you pick the right spot or adjust the stock, ambience, offers and advertising to suit the area. The Helix Personas segmentation tool can be used to drill down to a really specific type of customer.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, WESTFIELD PARRAMATTA, MELBOURNE CENTRAL, WESTFIELD CHERMSIDE

Retail gets highest marks in REIT reporting season

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 16-Sep-15

Analysis by CLSA shows that the operating income of Australian retail-focused real estate investment trusts rose by 2.9 per cent during the August 2015 reporting season. This compares with growth of 2.2 per cent for industrial property trusts and 1.5 per cent for those with a focus on the office market. Michael Scott of CLSA is upbeat about the outlook for retail REITs, citing factors such as the improving outlook for retail sales.

CORPORATES
CSM AUSTRALIA, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS

Retail A-REIT rejig mix to safeguard earnings

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 3-Sep-15

Earnings growth was driven by specialty tenants such as cinemas, fashion and food, according to listed retail property trusts. Fund managers predicted further attention to the tenant mix in malls to enhance portfolio quality. Attracting global brands also remained a focus.

CORPORATES
CHARTER HALL RETAIL REIT – ASX CQR, FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, NOVION PROPERTY GROUP, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, BWP TRUST – ASX BWP, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED

Merger resets retail landscape

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan, Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 28-May-15

The combined Federation Centres and Novion Property Group will be the second-largest retail property trust in Australia, with some $A22bn worth of shopping centres. Novion shareholders voted in favour of the deal on 27 May 2015. The combined group will be headed by Federation CEO Steven Sewell, who is tipped to undertake a strategic review after the merger is finalised. The deal is still subject to court approval.

CORPORATES
FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, NOVION PROPERTY GROUP – ASX NVN, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, EMPORIUM MELBOURNE, THE GLEN SHOPPING CENTRE, DIRECT FACTORY OUTLETS PTY LTD

ACCC clears Federation-Novion merger

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Original article by Nick Lenaghan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 22-May-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has approved a $A12bn merger between Federation Centres and Novion Property Group. However, the merged entity will be required to divest either the Karingal Hub or Bayside shopping centre, which are both located in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston. Novion investors are scheduled to vote on the merger in late May 2015.

CORPORATES
FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, NOVION PROPERTY GROUP – ASX NVN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, KARINGAL HUB, BAYSIDE SHOPPING CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, SHAYHER GROUP, CAPALABA CENTRAL

Woolies’ supermarket growth revised

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Feb-15

Shares in Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group have risen by 15 per cent so far in 2015. However, the listed property trust has reported that growth in sales at supermarkets in its shopping centres slowed to 4.2 per cent in the December 2014 quarter. Some analysts believe that this may have implications for the sales growth of grocery giants Coles and Woolworths, which will report their results later in February

CORPORATES
SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Novion, Federation seal $22bn mall merger

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Feb-15

Australian-listed real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) Novion and Federation Centres, active in the retail malls segment, will be merged in a deal worth $A22bn. The combined entity will be ranked third in the A-REITs category behind rival shopping centre owners Westfield Corporation and Scentre Group. Novion is the former CFS Retail, and along with Federation has 100-plus mall assets. Speculation is growing that a merger agreement may also soon be struck that could involve Dexus, GPT and Stockland

CORPORATES
NOVION PROPERTY GROUP – ASX NVN, FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, CHATSWOOD CHASE, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, COMMONWEALTH PROPERTY OFFICE FUND, FRASERS CENTREPOINT LIMITED, AUSTRALAND PROPERTY GROUP, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Pendulum sways to ‘Yes’

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 20-Jun-14

Westfield Retail Trust investors are expected to approve a restructuring of the group at a meeting on 20 June 2014. A vote on the proposed deal was postponed earlier in the month, when 25.9 per cent of proxy votes rejected the plan to merge the trust with the Australasian property portfolio of Westfield Group. Westfield Retail securities closed $A0.04 higher at $A3.21 on 19 June

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD RETAIL TRUST – ASX WRT, WESTFIELD GROUP – ASX WDC, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, UNISUPER LIMITED, LEGG MASON ASSET MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, COLONIAL HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED – ASX CNG