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Westfield to sell new shares to raise £1bn
Bill Condie03.02.09
Shopping centre giant Westfield, owner of London's luxury White City complex, has unveiled a share sale plan to pay down debt as global property prices plummet.
The company hopes to raise A$2.9 billion (£1.25 billion) by selling new shares.
Investors are being offered 276 million shares at A$10.50 each, 13% lower than yesterday's closing price in Sydney.
Aussie firm Westfield gets more than half of its sales from outside Australia, in Britain, the US and New Zealand — markets all facing worsening recessions.
The company's flagship Westfield London, with high-end brand names as tenants, only opened in October last year as the financial crisis shifted into high gear.
The company has been cagey about performance at the 265-store, £1.7 billion west London centre. It was 99% let at opening and “has performed very well in terms of customer visits and retail sales”, Westfield said.
Sales in the final quarter of 2008 dropped 6.8% at specialty stores in US shopping centres operated by Westfield.
