Westfield establishes EUR 783m shopping centre fund in UK

Westfield Group, the Australian retail property investor, has announced it is setting up a £530 mln (EUR 783 mln) wholesale fund to own interests in four Westfield shopping centres in the UK with a gross value of over £2.1 bn (EUR 3.1 bn).

To be called the Westfield UK Shopping Centre Fund, it will own 25% interests in the Westfield malls in Merry Hill, Belfast and Tunbridge Wells, and will purchase a 25% interest in the Derby mall post prior to the completion of its redevelopment in 2009. Westfield will continue to retain a 25% interest in the properties.

Westfield Group has interests in 121 shopping centres in Australia, the US, New Zealand and the UK. The establishment of the fund follows a recent major rights issue and the formation of joint ventures in the United Kingdom and Australia. Westfield will act as fund manager of the new fund and will continue to act as property, leasing and development manager for each of the centres.

Together with the other recent transactions, the new fund will increase the Group’s management of assets on behalf of outside investors to approximately EUR 10 bn. Two cornerstone investors had already subscribed to 67% of the fund, with the remaining third now to be marketed to a wider group of wholesale investors.