Scentre Selling Stakes in Westfield Burwood mall

Retail landlord Scentre Group has sold a 50 per cent stake in its Westfield Burwood mall in Sydney to Perron Group for $575 million.

The deal with the Perth-based company, founded by the late Perth billionaire Stan Perron, represents a 4.1 per cent premium to the centre’s $1.1 billion book value as of December 31, 2018.

The proceeds from the off-market transaction, brokered by Colliers International’s Lachlan MacGillivray, will initially be used to repay debt, according to Scentre Group.

Scentre Group CEO Peter Allen said the returns will also provide the group with further capital to pursue its strategic objectives of creating long-term value for security holders.

The transaction is expected to be dilutive to FFO per security in 2019 by approximately 0.2 cents per security.

“We are excited by the unique opportunity to invest in one of the highest quality shopping centres in Australia,” said Perron Group CEO Ross Robertson.

“Westfield Burwood is one of the top 50 shopping centres in Australia with customer visitation of more than 14 million per annum and total retail sales of close to $500 million.”

Perron Group also holds half stakes in other Scentre Group assets, including Westfield Woden in Canberra, Westfield Airport West in Melbourne and Westfield Geelong in Victoria.

Scentre Group’s forecast distribution remained unchanged at 22.60 cents per security.

The group will continue to manage Westfield Burwood.

The Burwood deal comes as the owner of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand won state government approval for its $500 redevelopment masterplan at Westfield Doncaster in Melbourne’s east, a key feature of which is the 14-storey tower rising above a two-level podium for retail outlets.

The Westfield Doncaster redevelopment project will add 43000sqm of retail and 18,000sqm of commercial office space on the site.