Westfield sells and seeks out new UK projects
The Westfield Group has announced it has agreed to sell its 75% interest in the Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham in the United Kingdom for £55 million (A$86 million), representing a premium to Westfield’s most recent £33.6 book value.
Westfield’s interest is being sold to Capital Shopping Centres and is subject to pre-emptive rights held by Westfield’s 25% joint venture partner in Broadmarsh, Possfund.
Broadmarsh (architect's impression above) was Westfield’s first acquisition in the UK in 2000.
While it was intended to redevelop the centre, the sale reflected an increased emphasis towards investment in larger, iconic centres such as Westfield London and Stratford City, adjacent to the site of the 2012 London Olympics.
It also announced it had entered into exclusive arrangements with the Whitgift Foundation (UK) to explore the potential redevelopment of a major retail centre at Croydon in south London.
Westfield and the Whitgift Foundation, the freehold owner of the Whitgift shopping centre, intend to work together to examine opportunities arising from the retail-led regeneration of the Croydon town centre with the same approach adopted in the development of Westfield London and Stratford City.
Croydon is in south London close to Gatwick Airport and serves the affluent trade areas of Surrey and Kent as well as parts of Hampshire, East Sussex and West Sussex.
