Westfield 2011: Lowy handed the malls to his sons, who sold the crown jewels at the top

Frank Lowy built Westfield from a delicatessen and a single shopping centre in Sydney's western suburbs in 1959-60 into one of the world's largest mall owners across Australia, the US and Britain. After turning 80, he announced in March 2011 that he would stand down as executive chairman after the May annual meeting, keeping a non-executive chairman's role while his sons Peter and Steven — already joint managing directors — became joint chief executives. 'I won't have the same day-to-day responsibilities,' he said, conceding the difference between title and habit would take adjusting.

The second generation then reshaped what the founder had built. In 2014 a $70 billion restructure split Westfield Group and its retail trust into Scentre Group, the Australian and New Zealand malls that 'continue the legacy of the Westfield brand', and Westfield Corporation, the US and UK arm with 35 centres including the World Trade Center retail complex and London's Shepherd's Bush. Frank retired from Scentre's board on his 85th birthday, and the family's attention shifted across the Pacific, where nearly 70% of the arm's $1.8 billion revenue was earned.

That arm was also the one facing the fiercest pressure: mall shares were sliding, store closures accelerating, and landlords worldwide were merging against online commerce. In December 2017 Unibail-Rodamco, Europe's largest commercial landlord, agreed to buy Westfield Corporation for A$10.01 a security — $15.8 billion, an $24.7 billion enterprise value — an 18% premium in the largest property takeover in Australian history. 'Assets I've spent my life building, I could not imagine a better home for them,' Frank Lowy said, as the family kept a substantial investment in the combined group.

Unibail-Rodamco paid A$10.01 a security — $15.8 billion, $24.7 billion with debt — an 18% premium, in the largest property takeover in Australian history.

Frank left the top job at 80 rather than 90, while he still commanded the board — the sons got real authority years before a sale needed it.

The 2014 split let each business be judged in its own market: Australian malls stayed listed close to home, and the US-UK arm became a clean sale asset.

The sons sold into consolidation: Unibail needed scale against online retail and paid an 18% premium near the top of the mall cycle.

Family control meant no public-market veto — deciding to sell the founder's life's work took one board recommendation, not years of activist siege.

A founder who hands over in time gives his heirs room to exit gracefully: the sons' breakup-and-sale realized the empire's value just before e-commerce repriced every mall.

The takeover completed in 2018, with Frank Lowy chairing Unibail's newly created advisory board. In 2019 the Westfield name was rolled out across ten flagship Unibail centres in France, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic — markets the family had never reached. Scentre Group carried on in Australia and New Zealand with the Lowys as substantial shareholders, while the sale price stood as the family's answer to the pressure the deal documents already described: relentless online competition and accelerating store closures across the mall sector.