黑洞社区

黑洞社区 wanted to meet Westfield to find out about its plans for the Olympic village site in Stratford 鈥� and what exactly the UK construction industry could offer the Australian developer-contractor that seems to have everything.

But now we鈥檙e here, Peter Miller, director of development, design and construction, is more concerned about delivering a sales pitch to any readers who might have itchy feet. Miller, the owner of the firmest handshake I鈥檝e ever experienced, is in the middle of a recruitment campaign and he鈥檚 looking for, well, just about anyone really. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got enough people now to start the Stratford project, but we鈥檙e looking for well over 100 over the next 12 months,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want construction people, engineering, all the technical and delivery personnel.鈥�

The unusual thing about Westfield as a client, and the reason for the recruitment drive, is that it does everything itself. 鈥淲e鈥檙e effectively an investor, but we follow that right through the implementation process all the way to completion and beyond, and we fund manage and asset manage the completed schemes,鈥� explains Miller. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the client, we鈥檙e implementers and we鈥檙e end users. We create our own opportunities. We鈥檝e got a continuing, growing pipeline of work.鈥�

The world鈥檚 biggest shopping centre developer, Westfield has been working in Britain since 2000 and employs 600 people in the UK: architects, , and construction managers. It also has its own legal, leasing, marketing and finance staff. Miller鈥檚 term for this is 鈥渧ertically integrated鈥�.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in control of our own destiny. That doesn鈥檛 mean we don鈥檛 use external expertise 鈥� we outsource a tremendous amount. We try to manage peaks and troughs. We use external architects and engineering firms and subcontractors to do specific tasks, and planning consultants, specialist design consultants.鈥�

This has been Westfield鈥檚 model since it was founded in Sydney in 1960. It has more than 4,400 staff worldwide and owns and manages 121 shopping centres, in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK. In 2006, it had AUS$60bn (拢25bn) assets under management and 15% of this was in the UK. By 2017, Miller says it wants to increase this to a third of its revenue.

It landed on the UK scene when it bought a 75% stake in the Broadmarsh centre in Nottingham from Hermes seven years ago. Later in 2000, it took over six shopping centres from MEPC. In December 2004, it bought Chelsfield鈥檚 portfolio, including the 拢1.6bn Westfield London development in White City, and the 180-acre Stratford City site. Its development pipeline over the next 10 years amounts to 拢8bn.

So far, though, it has almost finished its first UK project: a 拢340m redevelopment of the old Eagle Centre to become Westfield Derby. All of its shopping centres are given the company鈥檚 name and it will be interesting to see how this goes down in a British market where people have strong attachments to their local centre and the debate about 鈥渃lone towns鈥� flares up every few months.

Its second UK project at White City will be largely completed by October 2008, and it has submitted a masterplan at Stratford. Construction is also ready to go, pending prelets, on a handful of sites around the country (see box, below).

When Westfield Derby opens in October, it will be six months early, despite dramatic changes to the design after construction had started. This was only possible, says Miller, because it was acting as its own design-and-build contractor. 鈥淲e go to enormous lengths to improve the product throughout the process. Under normal circumstances in a retail development, you鈥檙e constrained because you鈥檙e dealing with an external builder. We鈥檙e a lot more dynamic, we can optimise returns and be more responsive to our retail customers.

鈥淗alfway though the project, Showcase Cinemas came to us and said, 鈥榃e鈥檇 like to put a 12-screen Multiplex cinema, over 7,500m2, into your scheme.鈥� We were out of the ground building the structure. Under normal circumstances, a developer wouldn鈥檛 even have contemplated asking the contractor to consider this, but we鈥檝e integrated the cinema and it hasn鈥檛 affected the programme.鈥�

When Westfield took over White City, its fellow Australian Multiplex had already been employed as contractor and had started onsite. Westfield bought out Multiplex鈥檚 contract, took on more than 70 of its site staff and made major changes to the design.

Miller says the decision was made to bring White City in line with the Westfield business model, but with the construction of Wembley incomplete and the court battles raging, he was also uneasy. 鈥淲e felt that if we鈥檇 carried on with Multiplex, we would have been exposed to cost and programme issues. Our approach is to employ people who are local and know the market; the Multiplex approach is somewhat different. I鈥檓 not saying that theirs is less successful but ours is working for us and the proof is in the pudding.鈥�

In the UK market, you have to be very good at what you do, very tenacious, very proactive, very driven in order to be successful

 

Westfield spent 20 years studying the UK market, says Miller, waiting for the right opportunity. Multiplex, in contrast, landed and went straight for the most famous project in the country. Westfield prefers to keep a lower profile, sometimes interpreted as secrecy. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not secretive,鈥� corrects Miller. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 go out there and beat our chests 鈥� we get on with it, we do our job.鈥�

The two firms do share a certain arrogance, although it is perhaps more understandable from Westfield, given its size. 鈥淲e鈥檙e at the cutting edge of the business we鈥檙e in,鈥� says Miller in his next breath. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the only company globally that鈥檚 expanded successfully internationally, with its business model operating in a number of different continents. I can鈥檛 think of a company that鈥檚 operating on the scale that we are in as many markets.鈥�

As he explains all this, there鈥檚 something not quite right about Miller鈥檚 Antipodean twang. In fact, he鈥檚 a South African who has worked for the firm for 13 years, but he went to school in London. This was followed by a BSc in at what is now Southbank University, and then several years of work in the UK. After five years in development for Westfield鈥檚 Australian business, the 42-year-old arrived to take up his post in the UK on Christmas Eve 1999; the Derby development didn鈥檛 start on site until November 2004 鈥� ample time to get to know the market.

The UK market, Miller believes, is more challenging than anywhere else they work 鈥� and there鈥檚 much more work for lawyers. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a greater reliance on the legal fraternity because some of the processes are so complicated, you can鈥檛 rely on yourself to validate it. You always need to get a legal opinion on everything you do, which tends to prolong projects and make them more complex. On the positive side, it鈥檚 very intellectually stimulating. You have to be very good at what you do, very tenacious, very proactive, very driven in order to be successful in this market.鈥�

So what can the UK construction industry offer Westfield? 鈥淭here are immense opportunities for consultants鈥� practices and contractors or subcontractors to come and work for us,鈥� promises Miller. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 do everything ourselves, we rely very heavily on the professions. We don鈥檛 profess to be specialist, we鈥檙e using the full gamut of professional services.鈥�

It might be a coincidence, but the one specialism Miller never mentions without prompting is quantity surveying, although it is reputed to have become more receptive to the QS鈥� art over the past year or so.

鈥淲e do use QSs for various purposes,鈥� says Miller. 鈥淏ecause we have joint-venture partners for most of our schemes, we bring in an employer鈥檚 representative or independent QS to vet costs and quality and implementation. They鈥檙e overseeing what we鈥檙e doing and reporting back to our joint venture partners. It鈥檚 gone relatively smoothly. We see it as a positive thing, because they contribute to the process and it makes the approval process more streamlined.鈥�

Westfield is very definitely a shopping centre developer, but in the UK market mixed-use schemes are becoming the norm. Stratford, one of the most diverse developments in the country, includes housing, hotel accommodation, offices and leisure. Would Westfield consider branching out? 鈥淲e might build the shell and envelope but have a joint venture with a housebuilder who could come and do the fit-out and sell the houses. The same with the hotel and the offices. It鈥檚 not something we鈥檙e averse to 鈥� our San Francisco scheme has an office component and Bondi Junction in Sydney has two office towers. A lot of our upcoming UK schemes have mixed-use elements.鈥�

Miller is in no doubt that Westfield has the capacity to build such a massive development as Stratford City, however. 鈥淲estfield has an enormous capacity to be able to do pretty much whatever鈥檚 thrown at it. We鈥檝e risen to the challenge 鈥� only nine months ago, we were building just Derby. The majority of our staff are new. From a standing start we took over the project at White City and we鈥檙e building up to do one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe at Stratford City.鈥�

With that, he鈥檚 back to the recruitment patter and why, in a market where almost every skill is in short supply, people should choose to work for Westfield. 鈥淩ecruitment is a fundamental challenge for anyone in the construction industry,鈥� he concedes, 鈥渂ut fortunately we鈥檝e got very exciting projects and a fantastic track record in construction.

鈥淭he door鈥檚 definitely open for people who are looking for a rewarding challenge 鈥� fantastic succession opportunities. Opportunities are limitless for anyone who鈥檚 motivated and wants to succeed 鈥︹��

We get the message. As the interview draws to a close, Miller is very keen that we include the address of Westfield鈥檚 recruitment website. Shall we? Go on, then 鈥�