Property Company of the Year – Retail
Sponsored by: Nash Bond
Winner: Westfield
Shortlist
• Capital & Counties
• Capital Shopping Centres
• Land Securities
• Westfield
Has there been a more welcome story this year than the opening of Westfield Stratford City, the £1.45bn,1.9m sq ft retail and leisure destination comprising 300 shops, 70 places to dine, a 17-screen Vue cinema, bowling alley and Aspers casino? It made the judges’ decision in this category a simple one.
“Delivering Stratford City is an exceptional, visionary achievement,” said one. “It has an enviable approach to delivery and, all-in-all, Westfield’s outweigh anybody else’s achievements.”
Westfield has already proved its value. In November 2010, it sold a 50% interest in the retail component of the scheme to a joint venture between APG and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for £871.5m.
But it has not all been about Stratford. Westfield London, in only its third year of trading, has outperformed expectations, with 26m people visiting in 2010 (up 13% on 2009) and sales of £870m (up 24.4%).
Elsewhere, the company has been working on kick-starting developments in Nottingham and Bradford and a £40m repositioning of The Friary shopping centre in Guildford.
The last word to our judges: “This year, Westfield has shown sheer ballsiness.”
