The Myer Emporium.
TOPSHOP has signed up its third strategic site in Melbourne's new Myer Emporium, with another major international retailer under due diligence, according to owner CFS Retail Trust.
Speculation surrounds names such as H&M and Uniqlo as the possible tenants of the new three-floor flagship store in the development.
The deal was revealed when the trust reported its full-year results, including a 3.1 per cent growth in distributions per security to 13.1¢. For the year the trust reported a net profit of $409.2 million, compared with $532.6 million the year before. The decline was due to lower valuation increases than in the year before and the mark-to-market of interest rate swaps.
Despite the underlying weaker retail market, the fund's manager, Michael Gorman, said the group's ability to change the mix of tenants had helped offset the conditions. He forecast sales growth of about 4 per cent for the coming year from the revamped DFO stores, the extension at Chadstone, Melbourne and the new Myer Emporium.
The senior REIT analyst at Goldman Sachs, Simon Wheatley, said the result was ''generally positive with management noting that demand remains healthy''.
Charter Hall Retail REIT's focus on food-anchored regional shopping centres also boosted its earnings for the year.
The operating earnings of $86.3 million equated to 28.81¢ with a 5 per cent rise in distribution to 26.10¢. Fund manager Scott Dundas said barring unforeseen events the 2013 operating earnings were expected to be in the range of 29.5¢-30¢, with distributions to reflect a payout ratio of between 85 per cent and 95 per cent of operating earnings.
