Unibail Rodamco Westfield to return €3.1b to shareholders
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The news: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) will return €3.1 billion ($5.4 billion) to shareholders through 2028 as it establishes a new roadmap focused on organic growth.
The numbers: In a statement released Wednesday, URW said it will distribute €4.50 per share for the 2025 fiscal year, with a payout ratio target of 60-70% from 2027 onwards.
The company will sell off a series of assets, with €2.2 billion in planned disposals in 2025 and 2026, with €1 billion already secured.
The context: The largest brick-and-mortar shopping centre owner in Europe, URW has been struggling under the burden of the ecommerce boom, made more difficult by the Covid-19 pandemic which drastically reduced demand for rental store spaces. URW has also weathered an activist campaign and growing debt.
URW’s roadmap includes a target of reducing future capital expenditure to around €600 million per year between 2026-2028, and to push Westfield Rise media revenues to €180 million by 2028 – a 56% increased on 2024.
What they said: CEO of URW, Jean-Marie Tritant said: “Project deliveries – including extension and densification projects in the US and Europe – will also fuel our growth. Our well-invested portfolio and streamlined development pipeline significantly limits our capex requirements in the coming years and supports our disciplined capital allocation framework. We have also created significant optionality on a range of exciting future development opportunities that can unlock further value in our portfolio through capital recycling.”
The source: ASX
