The owner of the local Westfield shopping empire, Scentre Group (ASX:SCG) is exploring a sale of a near 50% stake in Brisbane's Westfield Mt Gravatt Shopping Centre, in a deal worth about $850 million. The landmark complex is Brisbane's second largest mall and is believed to be in the sights of superannuation giant the Australian Retirement Trust (Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd), with funds manager QIC advising. While the parties have declined to comment, it would be one of the largest shopping centre assets to come into play this year.

A successful move would deepen ties between the pair, as ART in late December took a 19.9% stake in Westfield Sydney. It forked out $864 million for the interest in one of the jewels in the Scentre crown. ART is buying at a time when other major institutions are effectively out of the market for such large assets due to concerns over bond yields, geopolitical instability and uncertainty about the parts of commercial property.

Scentre is bringing more partners into its shopping centre investments partly to keep gearing in check, while also funding its ambitions, which include longer-term plans to build apartments at key centres in major capitals. Westfield Mt Gravatt is 12km south of the Brisbane CBD in a growth corridor served by major arterial roads. It is next to a Queensland government-owned bus terminal servicing Brisbane and the Gold Coast and generated about $1 billion in sales last year.