Paris Games boosts trading at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

A strong performance from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s conference and exhibitions business, driven by the Paris Olympics, has boosted turnover across the estate to more than €2.4bn (£2bn). Turnover in the conferences business was up by more than 48% to €318.6m. Offices saw the next biggest growth, up by 19.7% to €97.5m, with shopping centres up by 0.8% to €1.8bn. Despite the smallest increase in the retail business, URW said retail leasing activity was strong, with tenant sales up by 4.3% and footfall up by 2.4%. The UK retail business continued to lag behind URW’s schemes in Europe, with turnover down by 10.1% to €92.8m. Chief executive Jean-Marie Tritant said: “Thanks to continued strong operating performance, with a positive turnover trend across all activities, URW now expects to meet the higher end of its earnings guidance for 2024. This performance is supported by dynamic leasing activity as retailers’ sales continue to be strong in URW’s shopping centres. It also reflects the growth of our European retail media activity, on track to achieve €75m of net margin this year.” Photo © MOHAMMED BADRA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock