Hammerson plc (HMSO.L) and Westfield have signed a joint venture for the redevelopment of the retail centre of Croydon, pursuant to which Westfield has purchased a 50% stake in the 115 million pounds Centrale shopping centre from Hammerson. Further, the joint venture would also buy a 25% holding in the Whitgift Centre, following the closure of Hammerson's conditional acquisition deal with Royal London.
As per the new agreement, Westfield and Hammerson plan to redevelop and combine the two main Croydon shopping centres, the Whitgift Centre and Centrale, to deliver a comprehensive and transformational change to Croydon. The mixed use scheme of nearly 200,000 m2 would consist of retail, leisure, residential with the potential for hotels and offices, and would create more than 5,000 new jobs.
Both the companies would have a stakeholders' meeting over the coming weeks to discuss their plans for Croydon, following which a revised masterplan would be created combining the best elements of both schemes. It is anticipated that planning consent could be secured in 2013, with construction expected to start on site in 2015 for around 1 billion pounds scheme.
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