Australia’s two biggest property companies are fighting for a slice of Croydon town centre.
Westfield and Lend Lease have been holding separate negotiations with the Whitgift Partnership this week trying to buy its 50% stake in the 550,000 sq ft Whitgift Shopping Centre for around £200m. The other half is owned by Royal London and the Whitgift Foundation.
Lend Lease has teamed up with Minerva to make a joint bid. On Monday, the pair announced a joint venture to develop Minerva’s connecting 1m sq ft Park Place retail scheme.
A successful Lend Lease/Minerva bid could allow the formation of a single 1.5m sq ft shopping centre.
Previously, a separate refurbishment of the Whitgift Centre had been planned to compete with Park Place.
Minerva property director Paul Coster said buying the stake would mean it could finally get on with Park Place.
One of the owners of Whitgift said Lend Lease was very keen to be involved in the regeneration of Croydon, and hoped the purchase would cement its involvement in the town.
“I’m sure that’s the way Lend Lease is looking at this. It’s been interested in Croydon for some time and approached us early on in the Whitgift sale process to position itself as a potential purchaser,” he said.
Until now, Westfield was the favourite to buy the centre, after last month teaming up with Royal London and the Whitgift Foundation to bid for the remaining 50%. But agents said Westfield’s advantage was likely to be scuppered by the Lend Lease/Minerva jv.
“You’re not going to want to buy Whitgift now if you don’t own Park Place. It makes sense for Minerva and Lead Lease to bid for Whitgift. The council will only really want one owner doing it all,” said one.
Minerva said: “Park Place is a simple proposal, whereas Whitgift has a complicated background, with the Partnership made up of several different owners. Anything that can simplify that will give the public a better service.”
Andre James, head of investment at Colliers CRE, which is marketing Whitgift, said there were three shortlisted bidders. The third is believed to be Irish, with speculation centring on Derek Quinlan. The sale is expected to be announced in the first week of April.
● Prudential has sold half its 35% stake in Kent’s Bluewater shopping centre to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation for £318m (19 March, p31).
