Australian shopping centre group Westfield opened its new flagship shopping centre in the heart of West London on Thursday. The centre, which is 99% let, was undertaken in a joint venture partner Commerz Real. At 150,000 m2, the scheme is the largest shopping mall in London and Europe.
Australian shopping centre group Westfield opened its new flagship shopping centre in the heart of West London on Thursday. The centre, which is 99% let, was undertaken in a joint venture partner Commerz Real. At 150,000 m2, the scheme is the largest shopping mall in London and Europe.
Westfield London cost £1.7 bn (EUR2.1 bn) to build with Westfield's share being £1.1 bn on which it expects a stabilised income yield of 5.25%.
The centre is anchored by leading British retail names such as House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Next and Waitrose. It will feature more than 280 shops together with 47 restaurants, bars and casual dining outlets. A 14-screen Cinema de Lux movieplex is expected to open in the second half of 2009.
Westfield Group chairman Frank Lowy said Westfield London was the culmination of almost 50 years of experience in shopping centre development, design, construction, leasing, management and marketing. 'Everything we have learned since Westfield was founded in 1960 has gone into this centre, from the sustainable design and construction through to the high-quality retail mix, finishes and first-class services,' he said.
Westfield Group has also begun construction on another mall of similar scale and quality in the east of London at Stratford, adjacent to the site of the 2012 Olympics. Westfield Stratford is scheduled to open in mid-2011.