Convenience mall values have surged 20 per cent this year on the back of a pandemic-led boom in local shopping, a surge of private capital into the sector and their growing status as last-mile logistics hubs, the latest valuations by the country’s biggest owner of the asset class show.

SCA Property Group, which owns 97 neighbourhood and sub-regional malls anchored by supermarkets and liquor stores, recorded a 9.7 per cent or $384 million like-for-like valuation increase between June and December, after recording a 9.5 per cent or $323 million rise over the previous six months of the calendar year.