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Ben WilmotCommercial Property Editor

Ben Wilmot has been The Australian’s commercial property editor since 2013. He was previously a property journalist with the Australian Financial Review.

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COVID IMPACTCompanies

A shopper leaves a Priceline Pharmacy store in Sydney on Thursday, April 20, 2017. Australian Pharmaceutical Industries expects to boost its Priceline Pharmacy network by at least 20 stores during the current financial year and to lift its full-year net profit by at least 10 per cent. (AAP Image/Paul Miller) NO ARCHIVING

Priceline owner warns on closures

The listed Australian Pharmaceutical Industries has warned it will take a hit from the impact of COVID-19 on its retail business operations.

Ben Wilmot

PropertyProperty

Auctioneer Chris Scerri brings the gavel down on 24, Moree Avenue in Westmead on 17th October 2020.The buyer Jai Singh (young chap with beard) was serenaded by musician Tarkan Yavuzceh on saxophone.(pictures by Julian Andrews).

Sydney lifts, Melbourne recovers

Capital city auctions are continuing to recover as fears prompted by the coronavirus pandemic are replaced by a resurgence.

Ben Wilmot

EXCLUSIVEProperty

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos October 16, 2020: Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaking to media at a press conference at RFS HQ, Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

High hopes for $5bn ‘Science Park’

NSW’s under-pressure Berejiklian government has ushered a plan for a new Metro station at the technology park owned by the billionaire Baiada family.

Ben Wilmot

Property

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 10: Shoppers are seen outside the Parramatta Westfield Shopping Centre on October 10, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. Sydney residents are being urged to remain alert and continue with social distancing and hygiene measures to avoid contracting COVID-19 as NSW health authorities work to trace all contacts of new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the community. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

Westfield owner’s leap amid rights issue fight

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s locally listed CDI units jumped by nearly 13% amid a shareholder revolt over a rights issue.

Ben Wilmot

Crown InquiryLeadership

SAT. AUST. SPECIAL: Former top bureaucrat Jane Halton who switched to the private business sector and has been appointed to the board of directors of ANZ Bank. Photos: Ray Strange.

‘I was pressured on junkets’

Crown director Jane Halton says she was ‘pressured’ by former chair John Alexander to sign a response to media allegations.

Lachlan Moffet Gray and Ben Wilmot

EXCLUSIVECompanies

John Horvath testifies at NSW inquiry into Crown Resorts

Crown directors lose ground during inquiry

Crown Resorts is facing the growing prospect of an investor revolt at its annual meeting.

Lachlan Moffet Gray and Ben Wilmot

EXCLUSIVEProperty

A customer carries a shopping bag featuring the houndstooth branding of David Jones Ltd. as she walks past the company's Bourke Street store in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. South Africa's Woolworths Holdings Ltd. agreed to buy Australian retailer David Jones Ltd. for A$2.15 billion ($2 billion) to expand in a market targeted by global rivals including Inditex SA and Hennes & Mauritz AB. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

DJs in talks with Charter Hall

In the most significant property deal since coronavirus struck, Charter Hall is in exclusive talks for David Jones’ Sydney site.

Ben Wilmot and Mackenzie Scott

Gaming inquiryLeadership

09/01/20 Crown resorts owner James Packer (centre) with director Andrew Demetriou (right) and Todd Nisbet (left) in Melbourne. Aaron Francis/The Australian

‘Committed to serve’: Packer was top priority

Former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou’s independence as a director has been questioned in the light of special treatment of James Packer.

Lachlan Moffet Gray and Ben Wilmot

PropertyProperty

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA- NewsWire Photos. OCTOBER 9, 2020: A couple take a walk at Docklands during COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ David Crosling

Leasing markets see jump in vacancy levels

Dramatic downturn in business confidence and the trend towards working from home has driven up space being offered.

Ben Wilmot

Mayfair 101Property

A kayaker paddles in the clear waters off Dunk Island . Dunk Island resort which has been closed since it was battered by cylone Yasi and cyclone Larry Larry . PICTURE: ANNA ROGERS

Can Mayfair revitalise $1.5.bn tourism plan?

Embattled fund manager Mayfair 101 is pitching a plan to turn around the fortunes of its redevelopment.

Ben Wilmot

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/ben-wilmot/page/196