Chief executive Peter Allen

capital and the risk of achieving that return.

‘‘We are going to do it in a measured way,’’ he said.

He noted that 70 per cent of Australians lived within 30 minutes of a Westfield centre.

‘‘We don’t want to lose market position because of a minor finance issue,’’ he said.

‘‘We are in a unique position in Australia and New Zealand. We have to be very careful that we do not hinder our position.’’

What about selling the office towers? ‘‘Its too early to tell,’’ Allen said. One analyst asked why, with better-than-expected growth in net operating income and lower interest rates, the outlook for the key metric, FFO, was not better.

Scentre is in the process of refinancing short-term bridging finance. So far the group has raised A$3.04b to part refinance the A$5b bridge.

But it is long-term debt which has come at a small premium to the current short-term bridge.

‘‘My preference is for greater certainty in interest rates and duration,’’ Allen said.

Morgan Stanley has just initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘‘buy’’. Analyst Lou Pirenc does expect Scentre to sell stakes in its A$18.8b fully owned portfolio and use the proceeds to buy back shares, ramp up developments, buy individual assets or look for portfolios.

‘‘Over time, this should create more redevelopment and asset management opportunities,’’ he wrote.

None of this potential is without risk, but execution could drive around 15 per cent growth in FFO and net asset value upside.