The volume of shopping centre investment opportunities in the UK has swelled once more, with Australian giant Westfield appointing Savills to sell its 1.1m sq ft Derby mall.
Westfield Derby is expected to have a circa £400m price tag.
Westfield sold its stakes in three non-core shopping centres – Castlecourt shopping centre in Belfast , Royal Victoria shopping centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and the Friary Mall in Guildford, Surrey – with a combined value of £400m to Hermes Real Estate Investment Management in 2012.
The developer is now focusing on development and acquisition opportunities worldwide, and has invested in New York, Milan and the Brazilian market in the past couple of years.
The shopping centre investment market has been bolstered by a series of major opportunities in recent months. Mall transactions are set to exceed £4bn this year for the first time since 2007. Some £1.8bn of shopping centres was transacted in the first half of 2013, with an additional £2.3bn expected to sell in H2, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
A Westfield spokesman said: “Westfield continually reviews its global portfolio and has taken the decision along with joint owner Westfield UK Shopping Centre Fund to appoint Savills to market its Derby centre for a potential sale.
“Derby is Westfield’s first development in the UK and is a solid performing asset with strong sales and footfall.
“Westfield will continue to review relevant opportunities to determine if it wishes to proceed with a sale. Capital from any sale will be reinvested into Westfield’s extensive UK and Europe development pipeline.
“Westfield UK/Europe’s current £3.5bn-plus development pipeline includes the Westfield London expansion and new developments in Croydon, Bradford and Milan.”
