| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | ASX: WDC |
| Industry | Property development Shopping centre management |
| Founded | 1960 (Westfield Development Corporation lists on the Sydney Stock Exchange) |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
| Area served | Australia Brazil New Zealand United Kingdom United States |
| Key people | Frank Lowy and John Saunders (co-founders)[1] |
| Profit | A$2.3bn (2010)[2] |
| Total assets | A$59bn (2011)[3] |
| Employees | circa 4,000 staff worldwide (2010)[2] |
| Subsidiaries | Westfield Management Limited, Westfield America Management Limited, and others |
| Website | Westfield Group corporate homepage |
The Westfield Group is an Australian shopping centre group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, property management, leasing and marketing activities. The multinational company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and has interests in and operates one of the world's largest shopping centre portfolios with investment interests in 124 shopping centres across Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Brazil, encompassing around 25,000 retail outlets and total assets under management in excess of A$59 billion.[3]
In 2010, the Westfield Group split 50% of its Australian and New Zealand assets into the Westfield Retail Trust, trading on the Australian Stock Exchange as ASX: WRT.
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The Westfield Group had origins in the western suburbs of Sydney.[1] The first development was named "Westfield Place", and opened in July 1959 in Blacktown, Sydney.[1] The name Westfield is derived from "west" related to the West-Sydney location, and "field" due to having located on subdivided farmland. The centre was opened by John Saunders and Frank Lowy.[1]
The company was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1960 and built another five centres in New South Wales before expanding into Victoria and Queensland in 1966-67.[4]
The expansion into the United States began with the purchase of the Trumbull Shopping Park in Connecticut in 1977, and was followed by three centres in California, Michigan and Connecticut in 1980 and three centres in California, New Jersey and Long Island, New York in 1986.[4] In 1994 Westfield joined together with General Growth and Whitehall Real Estate to purchase 19 centres for US$1 billion. Westfield seems to form clusters of centres around particular cities or within a small number of states. They built considerable holdings on the east coast and in California before expanding in the Mid-West. By 2005, the company owned centres in 15 US states.[4]
In the 1990s, Westfield began a major expansion to New Zealand, where they mostly bought existing shopping centres of the Fletchers company, progressively rebranding them. Only in 2007, with Westfield Albany, has the company opened a fully new centre in the country.[5]
Westfield currently has interests in total assets worth A$58 billion, owning 119 shopping malls in four countries - Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States - with over 10 million square metres of retail space. It is the world's largest retail property group by equity market capitalisation. Despite the Westfield Group's asset dimensions, the Westfield Group is strongly controlled by the Lowy Family Group, including non-executive chairman, Frank Lowy, one of its founders.[6] Lowy's two younger sons, Steven and Peter, are joint managing directors.
Having been established in Australia, with their original premises being at Blacktown, the Westfield Group continue to operate a large number of shopping centres in Australia. The largest Westfield shopping centres in Australia include:
| Centre name | Location | Total retail floor area | |
|---|---|---|---|
| m2 | sq ft | ||
| Westfield Chermside | Chermside, Queensland | 144,351 m2 | 1,553,780 sq ft |
| Westfield Fountain Gate | Narre Warren, Victoria | 137,286 m2 | 1,477,730 sq ft |
| Westfield Parramatta | Parramatta, New South Wales | 137,269 m2 | 1,477,550 sq ft |
| Westfield Southland | Cheltenham, Victoria | 129,071 m2 | 1,389,310 sq ft |
| Westfield Bondi Junction | Bondi Junction, New South Wales | 126,895 m2 | 1,365,890 sq ft |
| Westfield Doncaster | Doncaster, Victoria | 120,000 m2 | 1,300,000 sq ft |
| Westfield Miranda | Miranda, New South Wales | 108,316 m2 | 1,165,900 sq ft |
| Westfield Hornsby | Hornsby, New South Wales | 99,830 m2 | 1,074,600 sq ft |
| Westfield Sydney | Sydney, New South Wales | 93,000 m2 | 1,000,000 sq ft |
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Westfield Malls are by far the most numerous chain in New Zealand, with 9 of its 12 centres in Auckland including their largest development located in Albany.
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Westfield has an interest in ten shopping centres in England and Northern Ireland.
By far its most significant asset is Westfield's 50% partnership[7] in the £1.6b[8] Westfield London development in Shepherd's Bush, west London. The development included the construction of a new railway station for the London Overground and Southern services, and a new entrance for the London Underground station.
Westfield is currently developing two new shopping centres, including:
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has investigated several disputes between the Westfield Group and its tenants. In 2004 the Commission found Westfield was abusing its market and commercial power in settling disputes with tenants, and forced Westfield to formally undertake to not engage in "Unconscionable conduct and intimidation" of tenants.[12]
Also in Australia, Westfield fee structures and policies have also been criticised by retailers who operate in centres which have been taken over by the multinational company. Retailers have suggested that when centres are acquired there should be more cooperation between the new operators and existing tenants in bringing shops up to the corporate standards of The Westfield Group, and increases in rent (required to operate a shopping centre with high standards of fittings and services) should be staged with the required improvements in fittings.[13]
In 2002, a competing shopping centre was lodged to Liverpool Council and subsequently built. The centre would be about 3 kilometres from Westfield Liverpool. In 2003 when the second stage was built, the Westfield Group allegedly sought help from the government in forcing its closure.
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