NZ's biggest mall owner to expand Westfield Albany from next year

Westfield Albany set for an expansion from next year. Photo / Michael Craig

ASX-listed Scentre Group will proceed with its long-planned expansion of a major Auckland shopping centre next year.

In its results presentation today from Sydney, the business has specifically named Westfield Albany as part of its wider A$4.5 billion ($4.8b) development programme.

John Papagiannis, director of leasing and retail solutions, told the Herald today: "We have lodged a resource consent that includes the introduction of a new supermarket and other exciting new retailers of which is planned to commence in 2023."

Plans show two towers developed above existing buildings on the site but whether Scentre will go ahead and build those in the near future remains unknown. Papagiannis did not mention those.

Plans by Scentre. Photo / supplied

Scentre owns $1.5b of New Zealand properties via five Westfield malls which in total are worth more than $3b. It holds those in a joint venture with the Singaporeans sovereign wealth fund the GIC which today was named as Precinct Properties' new partner.

Scentre's half of Albany is valued at $297.1m, its half of Newmarket is the most valuable at $589.7m followed by $289.7m for Riccarton, $209.1m for St Lukes and $192.8m for Manukau.

Today, the business said chief executive Peter Allen would step down. It declared a 12.7 per cent rise in its full-year earnings and lifted its distribution to A14.25¢. It made A$887.9m profit for the year including A$81.2m property revaluations.

This latest profit for the full year to December 31, 2021 contrasted with last year's A$3.7b loss due to heavy portfolio writedowns from the first wave of the pandemic.

In 2019, Scentre said it would spend around $500m at Albany.

Australian and Singaporeans will super-size yet another Auckland shopping centre, announcing a plan to spend a whopping $500 million at the North Shore's Westfield Albany, the Herald reported at the time.

Allen last decade announced plans for the existing centre which already gets millions of shopper visits annually.

"It will be around $500m and we're looking at trying to commence late 2020 or early 2021," said Allen in 2019.

However, plans never went ahead but today institution investors on a Scentre conference call also noted the revived Albany plans.

Plans last decade were for Albany to get two 15-level office towers and an extra 3ha to 4ha of indoor floor space, as well as a new north-facing multi-restaurant dining precinct, like Newmarket's new Rooftop on Broadway.

Allen said three years ago that many new retailers would open at Albany, dozens of extra shops be developed and the dining precinct would face the lake to the north of the mall, although Albany would have less of a fashion focus than Newmarket.

Scentre has also long had plans for St Lukes but Allen said three years ago the almost $1b redevelopment and expansion of Newmarket had delayed those.

Asked then what happened to Scentre's long-time plans to upgrade, extend and expand its Westfield St Lukes, he said: "Newmarket", indicating that was such a big project and its pull would be so strong that it would draw shoppers from throughout Auckland and further afield.