Westfield Sydney group's most valuable but Wollongong and North Rocks suburban malls delivering highest returns

Larry SchlesingerDecember 8, 2020

Interim results for the Westfield Retail Trust reveal that Westfield Sydney, the group’s flagship Australian store, is the most valuable, worth $1.34 billion, but it is two of its smallest centres that are delivering the strongest returns.

Westfield Retail Trust is Australia’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT) comprising Westfield’s portfolio of Australian and New Zealand shopping centres.

The trust recorded half-year profits after-tax for the six months to June 30 of $417 million, with 1,400 leasing transactions recorded across the portfolio of 52 malls in Australian and New Zealand.

Westfield Figtree at 19 Princess Highway in West Wollongong, which is valued at $75 million, and Westfield North Rocks in Sydney’s outer west (valued at $59 million) are both returning an estimated yield of 7.5% as of June 30 this year.

Westfield Figtree recorded $9,048 per square metre in retail speciality sales, while North Rocks managed $6,914.

Westfield Figtree has 22,000 square metres of retail space with 94 stores, while  North Rocks measures 23,000 square metres with 92 stores.

In comparison, Westfield Chermside in Brisbane – the largest store – has 146,000 square metres of retail space and 415 stores.

Both stores are strongly outperforming the total Australian Westfield portfolio, worth just over $12 billion, which has an estimated yield of 5.9%.

Westfield Sydney (40,000 square metres of retail space) has an estimated retail yield of 5.13% while the next most valuable shopping centre, Westfield Bondi Junction (129,000 square metres), valued at just over $1 billion has an estimated yield of $5.25%.

Here’s a breakdown of Westfield top ten performing centres based on their yield estimates as of June 30:

The estimated yield at Westfield Figtree (valued at $75 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield North Rocks (valued at $59 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Strathpine in Queensland (valued at $140.5 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Airport West in Victoria (valued at $140.5 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Hurstville in NSW (valued at $147.5 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Innaloo in WA (valued at $133.5 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Mt Druitt in NSW (valued at $115 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Whitford City in WA (valued at $149.5 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Helensvale in Queensland (valued at $93.8 million)

The estimated yield at Westfield Plenty Valley in Victoria (valued at $73.7 million)

Larry Schlesinger

Larry Schlesinger was a property writer at Property Observer

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