Hammerson chosen over Westfield to redevelop Whitgift shopping centre Westfield, which opened a shopping centre near the London Olympic park to great fanfare last autumn, said in November the 42-year old site in Croydon would become its third large London centre after an exclusive deal with the Whitgift Foundation, the freeholder and 25pc leaseholder. Royal London Asset Management and Irish Bank Resolution Corp, who together own 75pc of the 1.2m square foot shopping centre's lease, said at the time they had not been consulted on the plans and launched their own search for a developer. "The quality of submissions from all parties was very high, although in Hammerson we recognised a partner who could demonstrate a long-term commitment to reasserting Croydon as a centre of retail excellence," the companies said in a joint statement. Westfield was not immediately available for comment. Other developers that had been shortlisted were British Land, Land Securities, Lend Lease, Delancey and Grosvenor, four sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. The leaseholders are expected to offer Hammerson a minimum 25pc share of their joint £200m stake along with responsibility for managing the centre. Westfield said in November that the Whitgift Centre's Croydon location was "under-served by high quality retail and leisure facitilies," adding that a major retail scheme had the potential to serve over three million customers. Industry insiders familar with the Whitgift Centre told Reuters that picking Hammerson may delay the redevelopment of the 1.2 million square foot mall, as the decision still needs to be approved by the Whitgift Foundation.