Perth-based Perron Group has agreed to acquire a 50% share in the Westfield Burwood shopping centre in Sydney from Scentre Group for A$575m (US$398.2m), reflecting a 4.1% premium.
The 63,248 sq.m. shopping centre is located near Burwood train station in Sydney’s inner west, according to Scentre Group.
Situated 12km from the CBD, Westfield Burwood has 230 stores, including anchor tenants David Jones, Kmart, Target, Event Cinemas, Coles and Woolworths.
Westfield Burwood (image: Twitter/Scentre Group)
“We are excited by the unique opportunity to invest in one of the highest quality shopping centres in Australia,” said Perron Group CEO Ross Robertson.
“Westfield Burwood is one of the top 50 shopping centres in Australia with customer visitation of more than 14m per annum and total retail sales of close to $500m.”
The shopping centre was first built in 1966 and then later rebuilt in the late 1990s to reopen in 2000.
“We are pleased to extend our long-standing relationship with the Perron Group into Westfield Burwood,” said Scentre Group CEO Peter Allen.
Perron Group already owns 50% stakes in Westfield Woden in Canberra, Westfield Airport West in Melbourne and Westfield Geelong in the Victorian city of Geelong.
“The proceeds will provide the group with further capital to pursue our strategic objectives of creating long-term value for security holders,” Allen added.
Scentre Group owns 15 shopping centres in New South Wales, representing almost 40% of its portfolio on a gross lettable area basis.
The seller, which will continue to manage the shopping centre, said it would initially use the proceeds to repay debt.
Listed on the Australian stock exchange, Scentre Group is the owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand.
It has a platform of 41 shopping centres, with A$54.2bn of total assets under management.