Kiwi Property pushes out the opening of the Galleria at Sylvia Park to late 2020

Thursday, 30 July 2020

Retailers will start moving into The Galleria at Sylvia Park progressively from the fourth quarter of this year, Kiwi Property says.

Leading shopping centres owner Kiwi Property has pushed out the “Galleria” opening at Sylvia Park until the fourth quarter of the year.

The Galleria would open progressively from the fourth quarter because of the delays caused by lockdown. It adds 19,000 square metres of retail space at New Zealand’s largest mall. The Galleria’s anchor tenant is Farmers department store and it will have about another 60 retailers.

“Due to the construction halt that took place under the Level 4 lockdown the Galleria level will now open progressively from the fourth quarter of this year, rather than from the third quarter as previously intended,” Kiwi Property chief executive Clive Mackenzie said at the company’s virtual annual meeting.

“We continue to have strong commitment from our key tenants and are currently working through details relating to the timings for specific store openings,” he said.

Kiwi Property chief executive Clive Mackenzie says its support for key tenants through rent abatement and deferrals will cost about $20m.

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Kiwi said “adjusted sales” excluding cinema, travel and foreign exchange at its shopping centres were 7.5 per cent higher in June than in last June while total June sales were 0.5 per cent higher.

June was the first full month of trading since New Zealand exited lockdown. Sylvia Park in Auckland, The Base in Hamilton and The Plaza in Palmerston performed particularly well.

Kiwi reiterated its commitment to support key tenants. Mackenzie said its rent relief package, abatement of rent and deferral, would cost about $20 million or $14m after tax. That was the equivalent of about 8 per cent of last year’s gross rental income.

The cost was significant but the company would only be successful if its tenants had the financial strength to bounce back from lockdown. The support for them lessened the risk of vacancies and helped keep up strong visitor numbers.

“Assisting our tenants isn’t just the right thing to do; it’s also the smart thing,” Mackenzie said.