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- The 240,000 sq ft neighbourhood mall, which opened with a mix of lifestyle, wellness and F&B tenants, has reached about 90% occupancy and is drawing steady visitor traffic despite the usual teething issues associated with new retail centres.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) expects its newly opened KLGCC Mall in Bukit Kiara to break even sooner than initially projected as early operating indicators on the mall operation have exceeded internal forecasts.
Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azmir Merican said this comes following stronger-than-expected footfall, robust early tenant performance and a near-complete occupancy rate at the mall located within the KLGCC Resort development.
“In terms of when it will break even...we targeted a certain timeline, but now that we've seen the results, we have to rework our numbers. We think we will break even sooner than expected,” Azmir said during the group’s third-quarter FY2025 results briefing on Thursday.
The 240,000 sq ft neighbourhood mall, which opened with a mix of lifestyle, wellness and F&B tenants, has reached about 90% occupancy and is drawing steady visitor traffic despite the usual teething issues associated with new retail centres.
Azmir shared that the mall has recorded about 100,000 visitors in its initial weeks of operation, supported by the affluent residential catchment surrounding Bukit Kiara and the KLGCC clubhouse.
“We do have some challenges...the traffic and parking is limited, I would admit that is not optimal,” Azmir said, noting that the mall currently offers around 800 parking bays, with an additional 300 bays made available on weekends.
Only about 10% of nett lettable area remains unoccupied, and the group said it is being “very selective” with prospective tenants, supported by a strong pipeline of interest. About 40% of the anchor tenants are in the lifestyle and wellness business, another 30% are in F&B, and the balance comprise fashion shops.
Azmir added during the briefing that Sime Darby Property views KLGCC Mall as an integral addition to its retail and investment property portfolio, which now includes Elmina Lakeside Mall in northern Shah Alam, and industrial leasing assets across Bandar Bukit Raja in Klang and Serenia City in Sepang.
Together with its hyperscale data centre programme, these assets form the backbone of the group’s transition toward a more recurring-income-driven business model.
Sime Darby Property currently has a medium-term target of achieving a 30:70 recurring-to-non-recurring income mix, a target Azmir said the group is “well on the way” to delivering.
Sime Darby Property shares closed up three sen or 2.31% at RM1.33 on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM9.05 billion. The stock has fallen by more than 18% year to date.
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