‘Relief’ as Lowy lets Westfield go
WESTFIELD Corporation founder Frank Lowy says retiring from running the empire he started six decades ago with a small shopping centre in Sydney’s outskirts was a “frightening thing”.
The 87-year-old – who founded Westfield in 1960 and last year announced the sale of his global shopping centre business to Unibail-Rodamco for $35 billion – says he was always afraid of handing over responsibility.
But Mr Lowy admits that when the day came to sell, he felt a “great relief”.
“All my life from a young man, I have worked very hard and I enjoyed it very much and I was really afraid with what I would do when I no longer had the responsibility,” he said at a business conference in Sydney yesterday.
“And then the day came and I felt great relief instead of all those fears that I had – they all disappeared.”
The sale of Westfield’s 35 British and US sites to Parisbased shopping centre titan Unibail-Rodamco is one of the biggest corporate deals in Australian history and marks the end of an era. Shareholders are due to vote on the deal later this year.
While Mr Lowy has stepped down as chairman, he remains an active investor, chairing an advisory board for Unibail-Rodamco.
“I did a lot during my lifetime and I think it is time to make a change to my life at a young age of 87,” he said.