Scentre Partners for Full Control of West Lakes Centre

Half-owner Scentre Group has pounced on the remaining stake in Adelaide’s Westfield West Lakes shopping centre, teaming with investment bank Barrenjoey to expand the pair’s funds management ambitions.

The partners paid $174.75 million to Dexus Wholesale Property Fund for its interest in the mall 12km north-west of the CBD that lists David Jones, Kmart, Target, Coles and Woolworths as tenants.

Scentre—owner of the Westfield brand—retains its existing 50 per cent cut and will continue to manage the asset, which draws 6.6-million customer visits a year to its nearly 230 outlets across a gross lettable area of 71,051 square metres.

This marks Scentre’s second foray into funds management, following the group’s June 2024 acquisition of a half interest in Westfield Tea Tree, also in Adelaide, for $308.0 million.

CBRE Retail Capital Markets—Pacific head, Simon Rooney negotiated the West Lakes deal for Dexus.

The property’s future mixed-use development potential is supported by an under-utilised 20.4ha landmark site with an adjoining 36.4ha masterplan development planned to deliver 1300 homes and community facilities.

▲ Westfield West Lakes attracts around 6.6 million customers a year. 

Rooney said the acquisition of Westfield West Lakes showed the continued confidence of investors in the region’s economic outlook.

“These centres have already rebased their income back to sustainable levels and are now positioned for growth. We’ve seen $1.1 billion in high-quality regional retail assets recently change hands … with a further $1.3 billion in deals currently in play.”.

Meanwhile, Scentre has been given the nod for a $230-million renovation of its Westfield Marion property, about 16km south of Westfield West Lakes.

Westfield Marion is the largest shopping centre in South Australia, with the group claiming 306 current retailers generating total retail sales of about $945 million a year.

▲ Westfield Marion is home to leading major retailers and about 294 specialty retailers. Image: Scentre Group

According to BCI, renovation of the four-storey 152,198sq m site on 23ha about 10km southwest of the Adelaide CBD includes the addition of 52 shops and 20 restaurants.

External plans include a landscaped pedestrian plaza and the integration of a new four-storey carpark with the existing deck carpark, increasing the total parking spaces to 4956.

A new access point on Sturt Road will be created, along with internal travelators and lifts connecting the carpark to levels one to three.

The renovation is estimated to begin in the first quarter of 2025 ahead of completion by the end of 2026.