Stratford shines as Westfield sells small malls
AUSTRALIAN developer Westfield hailed the “exceptional” performance of its Stratford shopping centre last night as it outlined plans to invest in new malls this year and in 2013.
The east London site, next door to the Olympic park, received more than 13.6m shopping visits in its first 14 weeks from opening to 31 December, at a time when Britain’s high streets are struggling with lower consumer spending.
Westfield also announced the sale of its stakes in three shopping centres in Britain, thought to be Tunbridge Wells, Guilford and Belfast, for A$240m (£163.6m).
The group, which owns the Westfield London mall in Shepherd’s Bush, said net property income rose 36 per cent in Britain, compared to eight per cent in Australia and New Zealand.
It also announced plans to free up cash by forming a $4.8bn joint venture with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for 12 malls in the US.
Westfield reported funds from operations (FFO), an industry measure of core operating profits, of A$1.49bn, in line with an average FFO estimate of A$1.48bn.
The developer also said it will begin between A$1.25bn and A$1.5bn of developments over the next two years.