US private equity firm Carlyle Group LP is set to buy a 49 per cent stake in two Chinese shopping malls, as Western investors continue to look to the East for returns. As part of a vehicle advised by its Asia real estate group, Carlyle this week announced it had purchased a stake in shopping mall developer SZITIC Commercial Property Co Ltd as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies.

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The latest results from the British Retail Consortium revealed footfall on the high street rose 3.4 per cent year-on-year in April, the biggest increase since the run up to Christmas 2011. According to the results, which were compiled by the BRC and Springboard, the high street saw significantly more visitors in the month, compared with a 0.3 per cent rise in footfall for out-of-town centres, and a 3 per cent drop in shopping centres.

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Image credit: The Mall at World Trade Centre Aldar
House of Fraser will open its first store outside of the UK and Ireland in Abu Dhabi later this year, as it prepares to anchor The Mall at World Trade Centre. Expected to launch early in the second half of the year, House of Fraser’s new store will occupy three levels, joining H&M, BHS, Ted Baker and Pandora at the new shopping centre.

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Land Securities’ £350 million shopping and leisure complex opens to hundreds of shoppers eager to be among the first to shop in the 1,000,000 sq ft centre. Crowds flooded into the three-storey city centre mall on Thursday morning to catch the first of the launch-day celebrations, which included the world’s biggest designer dress by Henry Holland as part of its opening sequence curated by the iconic British designer.

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The District Mall. Image credit: LVMH/ TDIC
French retail conglomerate LVMH is set to develop a luxury shopping mall in Abu Dhabi under a new joint venture with The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC). LVMH-sponsored private equity fund L Real Estate will now look to develop a 168,000 sqm shopping centre on the Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.

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The world’s second largest retailer is pulling out of Colombia, another non-core country as it looks to better defend its key markets. In a deal which would be the biggest ever taken on by a Chilean firm abroad, Cencosud will pay USD 2.6 billion for Carrefour’s Colombian assets, including 72 hypermarkets, 16 convenience stores and 4 cash and carry stores.

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Westfield will sell eight US malls for USD 1.154 billion to Starwood Capital Group as it looks to raise funds to redevelop its remaining properties. Reuters on Wednesday reported that Starwood Capital Group would take a majority interest in seven of the malls for USD 1 billion through a new retail platform, with Westfield retaining a 10 per cent stake.

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Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co, SJSC, (Alhokair) have made their debut in Tbilisi, Georgia, as major tenants of the newly opened Uptown Tbilisi Mall. The launch will see Alhokair become Georgia’s largest retail group, with 15 of the retail specialist’s franchised brands opening in the mall on 6 April, and another 17 planned to open by the end of June this year.

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The world’s second largest shopping mall owner is reported to be considering the sale of seven of its US stores. The Wall Street Journal cited two sources close to the deal thought to be worth around USD 1 billion, in which Westfield would sell seven of its stores in the US to Starwood Capital Group.

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The days of getting lost inside department stores for hours on end may soon be over. An upgrade of Google’s mobile mapping device released on Tuesday is set to span the world’s shopping malls and airports as the company looks to become an invaluable shopping tool. Although the initial index only covers a small fraction of the world’s malls, for now just in US and Japan, Google Inc is hoping to develop the catalogue as more owners and operators of shopping hubs submit their floor plans to be mapped.

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