Vacancy across Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s shopping centres fell to 3.9% at the end of September. That is 140 basis points lower than a year earlier and, according to the group, a record low, as it reported in its trading update on 22 October. Over nine months, tenant sales are up 5.2% and footfall 2.2%. New leases are being signed 10.3% above indexed passing rents. For 2025 as a whole, the uplift was only 6.7%.
Earnings per share, meanwhile, are heading down. URW expects adjusted recurring earnings per share (AREPS) of €9.15 to €9.30 for 2026, after €9.58 in 2025, and confirmed that range on 22 October. The payout is going the other way: €5.50 per share promised for 2026, against €4.50 for 2025.
Sell, cut debt, buy back a few stakes
The €2.2 billion disposal plan set for 2025 and 2026 is done: €1.6 billion completed in 2025, €0.6 billion in the first half of 2026. IFRS net debt including hybrids went from €21.9 billion at the end of 2024 to €20.1 billion at the end of June 2026. Loan-to-value followed, from 42.8% at the end of 2025 to 41.9% six months later. Moody’s has upgraded the group to Baa1, URW said on 22 October.
It is not only selling. In July, URW announced the conditional acquisition of 50% of Westfield UTC in San Diego, where it already held the other half, and full ownership of Westfield Southcenter near Seattle, 55% owned at the end of 2025. In October it agreed to buy the 50% of Metropole Zličín in Prague that it did not own, funded by non-core disposals secured in the third quarter on top of the €2.2 billion plan.
Where the 4.3 million m² are
The 2025 Universal Registration Document lists the portfolio centre by centre: total complex area, URW’s share, consolidated area. On a consolidated basis, the group’s shopping centres added up to 4,313,200 m² at 31 December 2025.
| Region (URW’s split) | Consolidated space (m²) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic) | 1,318,900 | 30.6% |
| Southern Europe (France, Spain) | 1,280,300 | 29.7% |
| Northern Europe (UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark) | 930,800 | 21.6% |
| United States | 783,200 | 18.2% |
| Total | 4,313,200 | 100% |
The United States shows the gap between what you see and what you own. The fifteen US centres in the table cover 1,855,300 m² of total space. URW consolidates 783,200 of it, or 42%, because most are held 50% or 55% with a partner. The July deals in San Diego and Seattle go towards more control over a few large assets.
The largest centre on the list is neither in Paris nor in London. It is Westfield Centro in Oberhausen, at 253,600 m² of total space, ahead of Westfield London (235,800 m²) and Westfield Shopping City Süd outside Vienna (205,700 m²). At the end of September the group owned 65 shopping centres, about 88% of a €49.5 billion portfolio.
One question is left for the 2026 annual results: will higher rents on relettings make up for what the disposals took out of earnings?
What our register shows
The Retail Prospect register, the shopping-centre database published by HOWEB, records the areas URW publishes centre by centre, with the page of the document each value comes from. The 2025 portfolio described here is being added.