Westfield Group Changes Hands for £18.5 Billion
Shepherd's Bush centre included in sale to French retail giant
The Westfield Shopping Group, which of course includes Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush and its twin in Stratford in East London, is being sold for £18.5 billion.
Sir Frank Lowy, the Australian billionaire who founded the group in Sydney in 1960 and has since built it into a global powerhouse, has struck the multi-billion deal with French rival Unibail-Rodamco.
The takeover will create a £54billion retail giant with 102 shopping centres in 13 countries, including London, Paris, Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles.
Westfield owns 33 shopping centres in the US and two in London, at White City and Stratford, while Unibail operates across Europe and it is understood that the new owners will retain the brand name on all the centres.
Unibail chief executive Christophe Cuvillier says he will continue to expand the Westfield brand.
"All of us at Unibail have immense respect for what the Lowy family and the Westfield team have accomplished with the Westfield brand and the company's iconic collection of world class shopping destinations,' he said.Frank Lowy said: 'We look forward to seeing Westfield continue to grow as part of the world's premier owner of flagship shopping destinations.
"For the assets I have spent my life building I could not imagine a better home for them than in this new company.
"Today is the second most important day in Westfield history – the most important day was in September 1960 when Westfield was born."
The sale comes ahead of the launch of Westfield's expansion, which will create thousands of new jobs when it opens in March. you can read more about the extension and the stores it will house here.
Overview of the new extension
December 22, 2017
