2 weeks Ago By Varun Godinho
Scentre Group, the owner of Westfield, and investment bank Barrenjoey have finalised the acquisition of a half stake in Adelaide’s Westfield West Lakes for $174.8m. Scentre remains as co-owner and property manager of the other 50 per cent of the Adelaide asset.
CBRE head of retail capital markets, Pacific, Simon Rooney negotiated the deal, on behalf of the Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, which has been selling down assets, according to The Australian. Westfield West Lakes in Adelaide’s northern suburbs has a gross lettable area of 71,051sq m and tenants of the likes of David Jones, Woolworths, Coles , Kmart, Target, Harris Scarfe and Reading Cinemas. Its major tenants reported a combined $216m in sales per annum.
Major and national chain retailers represent 95 per cent of total space. Located on a 20.4ha landmark site, there is a future mixed-use development potential for the property.
“The West Lakes transaction demonstrates the resurging investor interest in larger regional shopping centres, given that these centres have already rebased their income back to sustainable levels and are now positioned for growth,” said Rooney. “We’ve seen $1.1 billion in high-quality regional retail assets recently change hands, including 50 per cent stakes in Westfield Tea Tree, Lakeside Joondalup and Claremont Quarter, with a further $1.
3 billion in deals currently in play,” he added. Scentre’s latest deal is its second foray into funds management following the group’s June acquisition of a 50 per cent interest in Westfield Tea Tree, also in Adelaide, for $308m. For the six months to 30 June 2024, Scentre Group more than doubled its first-half net profit to $403.
9m, which included an unrealised property valuation fall of $120m on its mall empire. The Group’s portfolio was valued at $34.3 billion.
Sales increased by 2.4 per cent to $13.4 billion.
Major shopping centres across the country are changing hands in major deals this year. GPT’s flagship retail property fund is offering up a half-stake in the $850m Northland Shopping Center in Melbourne. The two-level 98,000sq m centre has retailers including Myer, Kmart, Target, Aldi, Coles, Woolworths and Hoyts Cinemas and more than 200 speciality stores.
Vicinity Centres meanwhile also settled the $420 million purchase of a half-stake in Perth’s Lakeside Joondalup Shopping Centre, acquiring it from the Future Fund. Private investment house Hawaiian also took complete control of Perth’s Claremont Quarter by buying out its investment partner, funds manager QIC, in a deal valuing the stake at about $207m..
