Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield at EXPO REAL 2018

New corporate group presents plans for the German market for the first time

At EXPO REAL from 8 to 10 October 2018, everything revolves around real estate and investments. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is presenting itself as new corporate group for the first time in Germany at the Munich trade fair. As part of a get-together on 9 October 2018, the top management is going to present future plans for the German market to investors, partners and the media, and provide insight into ongoing projects.

“The merger of Unibail-Rodamco and Westfield has enabled us to bundle the know-how and business networks of two of the most important companies in the real estate industry”, says Andreas Hohlmann, Managing Director of Unbail-Rodamco-Westfield in Germany . “We will now consistently transport the dynamic that we have triggered with this connection into the national markets.“

New market power with an unprecedented portfolio

The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Group, born in June 2018, is one of the world’s strongest players in the real estate industry. The Group’s 102 shopping centers, including 56 flagship centers, attract more than 1.2 billion visitors annually. On the European continent alone, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had 772 million visitors last year. The Group employs around 3,700 experts in 13 countries. The company is currently developing new construction projects with an investment volume of 12.5 billion euro, while at the same time pushing ahead with the further development of the existing portfolio. In Germany, the group operates 26 center, nine of which belong to the own portfolio.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is using the stage at this year’s EXPO REAL to give investors and business partners a deeper insight into the Group’s strategy. For the German market, the main focus is going to be on the new opportunities that have arisen from the acquisition. Westfield’s flagship centers in metropolises such as Los Angeles, New York and London are regarded as a benchmark in areas like architecture, interior design, marketing and live events throughout the industry.

Integration of Westfield concepts in design, marketing and tenant mix

“The new Group stands for impressive center architecture, an exclusive range of international premium retailers and first-class marketing concepts“, says Andreas Hohlmann, Managing Director of Unbail-Rodamco-Westfield in Germany. “Our goal for the coming months is to integrate these concepts in the best possible way into our portfolio in Germany and in this way ensure the highest possible quality of stay and even better customer experiences. In doing so, we also explicitly have centers in mind that we operate for other owners.”

Rebranding of German centers under review

Newly gained concepts are accordingly going to influence both the Group’s new construction projects and numerous revitalisations which are currently shaping the corporate strategy in the asset management sector. The acquisition also opens up new options in terms of branding.

“We are currently examining very closely whether and which centers in Germany will bear the Westfield name in future”, says Harita Shah, Marketing Director Europe. However, the selection criteria for this are very demanding: “Location, catchment area, visitor development, positioning, size, marketing and tenant mix – rebranding only makes sense if all these factors ideally match the brand”.

Southern Überseequartier: milestone project

With regard to integrating new concepts, a focus is without doubt on the group’s milestone project, the development of Southern Überseequartier in Hamburg. Designed as integrated district and central part of the HafenCity in Hamburg, it connects places to live and work with attractive cultural offers and leisure facilities as well as innovative retail and entertainment concepts. In figures: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield plans approximately 650 apartments, three hotels, 64,000 square meters of office space for around 2,400 workstations, 21,000 square meters of cultural, entertainment and dining options, 80,500 square meters of retail space distributed among 200 shops and a state-of-the-art cruise terminal. The goal: a vibrating meeting place for people from Hamburg and tourists. With 419,000 square metres, 14 buildings and an investment volume of more than a billion euro, the urban mixed-use development is one of the most important projects of the company’s history.

Find out more about Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and the formation of the new company group and all ongoing projects at booth B1.240.

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