History
Scentre Group was established in 2014 with a purpose to create extraordinary places that connect and enrich communities. We bring people together through our Westfield platform, which includes 42 destinations across Australia and New Zealand.
We have the capabilities and expertise within our team to design, construct, operate, manage and market our platform. These have continued to evolve since our inception in 2014, and draw on more than six decades of Westfield heritage.
The Westfield brand was founded in Sydney’s western suburbs in 1959 by Sir Frank Lowy AC and John Saunders AO in what has become one of the most iconic success stories of Australian immigration and entrepreneurialism. For the first 50 years of its lifetime, Westfield grew rapidly in Australia and then internationally, pioneering the world-class and contemporary retail shopping experience for which our destinations are renown.
In 2014, the Westfield Group was restructured in the pursuit of growth and value for investors. The Australian and New Zealand businesses became Scentre Group, and we retained the right to use the Westfield brand for our destinations in Australia and New Zealand. The international business with an initial focus on the US, the UK and Europe became Westfield Corporation, and was later acquired by another company.
Sir Frank Lowy AC was the Group’s inaugural Chairman and retired in 2015. Steven Lowy retired from the Scentre Group Board in 2019 and the Lowy family sold its financial interests in Scentre Group in the same year.
Scentre Group’s 37 Australian and 5 New Zealand Westfield destinations are unique in our global industry, strategically located in the heart of thriving urban communities and close to where the majority of the population lives. The offer that we curate in our destinations combines retail, products and experiences that are considered essential in the lives of our customers. In 2022, the portfolio attracted more than 480 million annual visits.
Our people are proud of our founders’ incredible story and brand heritage, which has shaped much of our company culture and Westfield’s recognition and trust in our local communities.
Scentre Group continues to evolve its Westfield destinations in pursuit of its plan to create the places more people choose to come, more often, for longer.
We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to their Elders past and present.
We recognise the unique role of Māori as Tangata Whenua of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
