JY Group buys half stake in West Australian shopping mall from GIC for A$195m

The privately-owned shopping centre owner, JY Group, has bought a half stake in West Australian shopping mall in Perth from GIC for A$195m (€119m).

It will become a co-owner of the regional shopping centre with Scentre Group which manages the property. JY Group picked up the stake after Scentre passed up its pre-emptive right to take full control of the centre that it has jointly owned with GIC since 2009 when the Singapore sovereign wealth fund bought it from Dexus in 2009.

The Hong Kong-based JY Group has been actively acquiring Australian shopping centres post-COVID. Among its recent acquisitions are stakes in Carlingford Court shopping centre in Sydney and Roxburgh Village in Melbourne. It said it would work with Scentre on maximising Whitford City’s potential and explore future opportunity.

Its lawyers, Lander & Rogers said this deal marked JY Group’s first joint venture with Scentre Group and it increased its total assets under management to A$2.5 billion.

Westfield Whitford City is a high-performing shopping centre anchored by major national supermarket and retail chains like Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, Kmart, and Big W. It underwent an A$80 million redevelopment which was completed in 2017 and was again refreshed with further upgrades last year.

John Wells, Lander & Rogers’ partner and real estate & project group leader who led the team advising the buyer, said this significant transaction would strengthen JY Group’s position as a key player in the retail and mixed-use sector, enhancing their portfolio of high-quality assets across Australia.

GIC’s exit from Westfield Whitford City is part of its pivot away from prime shopping centres to convenience centres in Australia. Last year it sold its share in in Chatswood Chase on Sydney’s North Shore to its co-investor, Vicinity Centres, for A$307m.

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