Westfield owner URW posts income growth 

Westfield owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has grown its rental income in the first nine months of the year, driven by “record high” leasing activity. Gross rental income on a proportionate basis at the owner’s UK shopping centres, in White City and Stratford, grew by 21.2% to €176.5m (£153.5m) in the nine months to the end of Q3. On an IFRS basis, it grew by 34.5% to £103.2m. The group posted a 2.8% increase to €2.2bn on a proportionate basis across all of its properties for the period. Sales at the UK malls were up by 6% during Q1 to Q3 this year, when compared with the same period last year. Proportionate turnover across the group grew by 1.9% year-on-year to £2.8bn in the first nine months of 2023, which URW said was hit by disposals, lower property development and project management revenues and negative foreign exchange impact. It said its turnover was up by 11.7% on a like-for-like basis. UK mall vacancies inch down URW’s UK malls collected 97% of rent owed in the first three quarters of the year, consistent with the group’s overall rent collection level for the same period last year. The mall owner said leasing activity was at a record high, with its properties posting an 8.4% overall minimum guaranteed rental uplift on top of index passing rents. Signed leases exceeding 36 months had an MGR uplift of 12.8% on top of indexed passing rents. That included a 3.4% uplift in the UK. The vacancy rate across the UK shopping centres slightly decreased to 8.3%, down from 8.5% in H1 and 9.4% in FY 2022. Vacancy stood at 6.1% across the group, which was 60bps below Q3 2022 and 10bps below its full 2022 financial year. Projects scheduled to complete in the second half of this year include Coppermaker Square Retail, a 80,051 sq ft leisure development adjacent to Westfield Stratford City, which is 69% prelet. €2.7bn facilities set to mature soon The group’s debt pile stood at €21.9bn when factoring in its disposal of the Polygone Riviera shopping centre in France. The sale means URW has secured €3.6bn (90%) of its €4bn European asset disposal strategy. The owner has €13.2bn liquidity, including €5.1bn of cash on hand and €8.1bn of credit facilities. Some €2.7bn of those facilities are set to mature over the next 12 months. URW said it is “considering opportunities to extend or renew part of these lines”. Jean-Marie Tritant, chief executive at URW, said: “We made further deleveraging progress with asset sales in the US and Europe, and continue to benefit from a low and controlled cost of debt, and over 36 months of liquidity. “In October, we announced the evolution of our Better Places sustainability roadmap showing how URW supports the environmental transition of cities and the retail industry and its path to net zero. The comprehensive approach fully aligns with our strategy to strengthen our core business, build new revenue platforms and maximise the value of our assets; and it positions URW to unlock new opportunities in the future.” To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Image © Dinendra Haria/Shutterstock