A$30 Million in Rent Guarantees Cover David Jones’ Westfield Stores
Key Facts
Scentre Group said its share of the bank guarantees David Jones provided for its stores in its Westfield portfolio in Australia and New Zealand is about A$30 million, equivalent to 8 months of gross rent. The group added that David Jones had paid all rent due through September 30, 2026. The disclosure comes as the department store chain faces reports of funding and inventory pressures, while its owner, Anchorage Capital Partners, considers options to shrink its store network. The appointment of voluntary administrators or a collapse in rent negotiations, the crux of earlier reports, could not be verified. The Australian Associated Press said on November 3 that all 38 of the chain’s stores remained open.
David Jones occupies space at 17 Westfield destinations, totaling about 200,000 square meters, according to Scentre Group. The group estimated gross rent for those stores in calendar 2026 at about A$45 million for its share. Those rents represent about 1.8% of Scentre Group’s total rent and 3.6% of funds from operations on an annual basis. Based on figures published by the group, the bank guarantees provide coverage equivalent to several months of rent, while it said payments were current through the end of September. Scentre Group said occupancy across its destinations was 99.8%, the highest level in more than a decade, and that it completed 2,085 leasing deals in the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
On funding, Inside Retail reported on October 28, citing a report by the Australian Financial Review, that Hilco Global injected an additional A$10 million into David Jones to buy emergency inventory ahead of Christmas. Inside Retail said the funding followed delayed payments to some concession holders in the stores. It also said Anchorage was reviewing a plan to cut the 38-store network by more than half. Anchorage said it continued to support the company through an extended period of weak consumer confidence and significant structural change in the department store sector, and remained committed to providing capital and investments to support its transformation. That places emergency funding and options to reshape the network among the company’s disclosed developments, without confirming that it had entered voluntary administration.
Financial results published for fiscal 2024/25 reflect pressures that preceded the developments reported in 2026: David Jones posted a loss of A$95.5 million, compared with a loss of A$74 million in 2023/24, according to the Australian Associated Press. Scentre Group, meanwhile, said the former David Jones store space at Westfield Tuggerah was being converted for other retailers. It said JD Sports and Rebel had opened there, and visits rose 6.2% compared with the prior corresponding period in the eight weeks since opening. Timezone is scheduled to open at the site in the second quarter of 2027. The available coverage did not identify a specific date for an announcement on the size of David Jones’ network or publication of its 2025/26 accounts.