Slice of Westfield centre trades for $195m as JY inks deal

The sale is another sign that shopping mall values have reset and liquidity is back in the market.

Westfield Whitford City sits on a 235,000sq m site, and the centre includes major retailers Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, Kmart and Big W.

Privately-held property player JY Group has finalised the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Westfield Whitford City in a $195m play in a sign of further depth in the super subregional shopping centre market.

The deal was finalised after Westfield owner Scentre Group passed up the opportunity to exercise its rights to take full control of the centre. It held its own 50 per cent stake in Whitford City, which it manages, at $230m at the end of June, showing the shift in values.

JY Group said it would work with Scentre on maximising the asset’s potential and on future opportunities after buying the stake from Singaporean sovereign fund GIC.

Lachlan MacGillivray of Colliers brokered the deal, and Arden Advisory were transaction managers and debt advisers.

Westfield Whitford City artist impression of the outdoor dining and entertainment precinct.

Scentre and investment bank Barrenjoey have been active, and bought half stakes in Adelaide’s Westfield West Lakes for $174.8m and in Westfield Tea Tree Plaza, for $308m.

The purchase is a milestone for JY Group, taking its property empire to $2.5bn and marking its first venture with Scentre Group.

Westfield Whitford City is an 88,880sq m complex anchored by retailers Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, and Kmart, with Big W as a major department store. A $80m redevelopment, completed in 2017, saw the site overhauled with a large dining and entertainment hub and further upgrades completed in 2023.

The centre sits on a prime 235,000sq m site which has significant value-add and mixed-use development opportunities in future. There is also development approval in place for about 90 apartments and an office block, enhancing the centre’s future potential. An adjoining large format retail precinct adds further value and diversity to the asset.

Like other Perth assets, the sales performance was up with a total Moving Annual Turnover of $513.6m, a 7.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

JY Group said the acquisition strengthened its position as a key player in the retail and mixed-use sector and boosted its portfolio of high-quality assets across Australia.

The Australian flagged the acquisition in June at a time and Perth shopping centres were trading at a rapid clip with the Future Fund exiting and Fawkner buying a series of assets. Large complexes are trading more rapidly as syndicators are keen to get in before large institutions march back into the market.

GIC’s exit from Westfield Whitford City is part of its local shift away from retail properties and investment more in other sectors. In 2021, it sold a half-stake in three Sydney CBD shopping malls to Hong Kong-based real estate investment trust Link REIT in a deal worth $538.2m, and it has since sold out of Chatswood Chase in Sydney.

JY Group’s existing holdings include retail property across Sydney, Melbourne and Wollongong, and is an experienced co-owner in the shopping centre industry.