A 49% share in five of Westfield’s top retail properties in Auckland and Christchurch is up for sale. It is expected that international investors will be the ones to buy it. The seller is thought to be the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore, but this has not been confirmed.
The Scentre Group, based in Australia, will keep a 51% share and continue to manage the properties. These include the Newmarket, Albany, St Lukes and Manakau City properties in Auckland, as well as the Riccarton Mall in Christchurch.
Richard Kirke, the international sales director at Colliers, said the 49% share for sale is worth around $1.4 billion in total. However, the properties can also be sold separately. He mentioned that owning all the properties could be beneficial for some investors, as it offers a scale that is rare in New Zealand.
The properties for sale include 60 hectares of prime land and have potential for further development. Kirke said that the sale is already attracting interest from buyers around the world. He explained that because of the high price, it’s likely that the buyer will be from overseas.
The Westfield properties have been doing well since the Covid-19 pandemic, with strong sales and a return rate of about 7%. This is higher than the return rate of industrial properties, which is around 5%.
