On 12/04/2010 09:53, Alick Stott wrote:
Is this the same Westfield that is on hold in Bradford due to the lack
of cash and the recession?!
It certainly is Alec and he's no stranger to the UK, as he is poised to
make a mint out of the Olympics too.
http://uk.westfield.com/bradford/home.html
Westfields's board of directors in the UK include Lord Goldsmith (former
attorney general who advised Blair it was OK to go to war) . Nice!
here's the official backstory:
Westfield’s story is truly remarkable and it dates back more than half a
century to when John Saunders and Frank Lowy opened their first sandwich
shop.
John Saunders moved from Hungary to Sydney in 1950 whilst Frank Lowy
moved from southern Czechoslovakia to Palestine and then onto Sydney and
arrived there on 26th January 1952.
The two became business partners in a small sandwich selling partnership
until they set up their own delicatessen in Blacktown. They both knew
the food business and, instead of taking the easier option of opening a
new shop in the inner city, they looked to the suburbs for more daring
but lucrative opportunities. The outlying western suburb of Blacktown
was on the brink of a railway boom.
The shop flourished. Just as the suburbs had proved a boon for this
first venture, so they would continue to provide the budding partners
with undreamed-of opportunities in the future.
Whilst the railway scheme in Blacktown drew workers from all over the
world, most came from Europe. These Europeans would have found outlying
Blacktown provincial, if not plain dull. Sensing this, Saunders and Lowy
found another shop a few doors down and opened their next business, a
coffee lounge. With its tables and chairs on the footpath, music,
genuine espresso and continental atmosphere, it offered people a small
taste of the life they had left behind.
But something bigger was exercising the partners’ minds — instead of
just providing coffee, why not provide houses too!
Between 1954 and 1961 the population of Blacktown almost tripled. It was
the biggest increase the area had ever experienced, and to meet the
demand for housing, the local council began to rezone farmland for
residential use. Typically, it allowed a ten-acre farm to be subdivided
into small plots which could then be sold off for £1,000 each. Onto
these plots, people could bring inexpensive mobile homes.
The process seemed relatively straightforward so Saunders and Lowy
borrowed money and plunged in. They persuaded a local farmer that it was
an excellent time to sell. Six months later, they were counting their
profits, which were encouraging rather than large.
When an acquaintance bought some land near their shop and, instead of
putting up houses, unexpectedly built half a dozen shops, Saunders and
Lowy had a bright idea: they could do that too!
By then their property business had brought them £30,000 and, on advice
from their solicitor, they transformed their partnership into a private
company. But what to call it? One day, while travelling home from
Blacktown together, they hit on the name ‘Westfield’. As they were doing
business in the western suburbs, the word ‘west’ was a natural choice
and, as they were subdividing farmland, ‘field’ seemed appropriate. It
felt right and Westfield Investments Pty Ltd was born.
A short while later, a customer told Saunders that a couple of old
shops, owned by a local resident, would be coming up for sale. The shops
were around the corner from the delicatessen and, as they were located
between the newly-built shops and the local post office, well positioned
for passing trade. The partners took one look and saw potential. The two
existing shops could be pulled down and more built on the same site.
Soon four new shops went up on this site. There was a ready market and
they were swiftly sold.
Very early in 1958 Saunders and Lowy were ready to take off their aprons
and concentrate on the lucrative margins of the property development
business. The delicatessen was sold for £20,000 and they took offices
above some shops around the corner.
In 1957 two centres opened, the Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre in
Brisbane, and the Top Ryde Shopping Centre in Sydney.
Westfield Place opened in July 1959 was the biggest event in Blacktown
since the celebrations marking the electrification of the railway in 1955.
In 1960 Westfield was listed on the Sydney Stock Exchange. 1977 saw the
entrance of Westfield into The USA and then in 1997 into New Zealand.
The company entered the UK market in the year 2000.
Today, Westfield specialises in the management, leasing, development,
design, construction and funding of shopping centres. Westfield has
approximately £25billion of assets under management in a portfolio of
119 shopping centres across the United Kingdom, United States, Australia
and New Zealand with 22,000 retailers and approximately 10 million sq m
of retail space. Frank Lowy is still Chairman today.
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