Department store chain alleged that the mall was ‘substantially empty of suitably presented retail stores’
[SINGAPORE] The manager of Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) announced on Thursday (Jan 22) that it has won the arbitration proceedings initiated by department store chain Myer regarding a lease dispute at the Myer Centre Adelaide.
The tribunal issued a partial final award on Jan 22, in favour of the landlord, dismissing Myer’s claim.
The dispute dates back to March 2023, when anchor tenant Myer issued a notice of arbitration against the trust’s sub-trust in Australia.
Myer had alleged that the landlord breached the lease terms by maintaining the mall in a condition where it is “substantially empty of suitably presented retail stores”.
The department store chain sought a declaration that it was entitled to terminate the lease, which is scheduled to run until June 2032.
In its latest announcement, the manager stated that Starhill Global Reit has incurred approximately A$5 million (S$4.4 million) in legal and related professional fees to date. The tribunal will decide on the allocation of these costs in a separate award.
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“Should the costs award be favourable, the manager expects to be able to recover part of these costs,” it noted.
Myer occupies about 324,000 square feet in Myer Centre Adelaide.
For the financial year ended Jun 30, 2025, the Myer lease contributed approximately 7 per cent of Starhill Global Reit’s total portfolio revenue and 8.9 per cent of its net property income.
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The manager added that the award is not expected to have a material impact on the Reit’s distributable income for the current financial year ending Jun 30, 2026.
Units of Starhill Global Reit ended S$0.005 or 0.8 per cent higher at S$0.595 on Friday (Jan 23), after the news.
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