Scentre Group sells 50% stake in Westfield Mt Gravatt to ART for A$882.5m
Scentre Group has received regulatory clearance to sell a 50% stake in Brisbane's Westfield Mt Gravatt to Australian Retirement Trust for A$882.5 million. The deal, which values the mall at A$1.74 billion, is set to close before 30 September and marks the latest in a series of asset joint ventures b
Scentre Group is proceeding with the sale of a half-stake in a Brisbane mall to Australian Retirement Trust for A$882.5 million ($633.7 million) after the pension fund obtained clearance from the competition regulator.
ASX-listed Scentre, Australia's biggest mall owner, said Wednesday that the transaction for Westfield Mt Gravatt had cleared its final condition and was scheduled to close before 30 September. The deal comprises A$870 million for a 50 percent direct interest in the shopping centre at a 5.5 percent capitalisation rate and A$12.5 million for half of an adjacent land parcel.
The pricing implies a A$1.74 billion valuation for the mall and A$25 million for the land, with the total consideration representing a 3.5 percent premium to the assets' December 2025 book values. Scentre will retain the remaining half of Westfield Mt Gravatt and continue as property, leasing and development manager.
“Introducing new capital, through joint venturing our assets, forms a key part of our long-term strategic plan,” Scentre CEO Elliott Rusanow said in announcing the agreement on Monday. “In the last 13 months, we have announced approximately A$3.1 billion of new third-party capital coming into the group through the joint venturing of our assets.”
Located 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) south of central Brisbane, Westfield Mt Gravatt spans 141,699 square metres (1.5 million square feet) and serves a trade area of over 1.2 million residents. The centre recorded 17.4 million customer visits and A$1 billion in retail sales last year. The property houses 376 tenants, including Myer, Kmart, Target and Coles.
The Mt Gravatt sale lifts the capital introduced through Scentre's recent asset joint ventures to A$3.1 billion. That tally includes two 25 percent stakes in Brisbane's Westfield Chermside sold to Dexus-managed vehicles for A$683 million each last year. ART's latest purchase follows the superannuation fund's A$864 million acquisition of a 19.9 percent interest in Westfield Sydney, which closed in February at a 4.69 percent cap rate.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission had considered whether ART's growing mall holdings, managed by QIC, and Scentre's continuing operational control could reduce competition among shopping centre owners for tenants. By granting a waiver, the ACCC effectively found the transaction unlikely to substantially lessen competition, allowing it to proceed without a fuller review or remedies.
