They know how to cover costs.From correspondents in London |...

They know how to cover costs.


From correspondents in London | November 04, 2008

WESTFIELD has angered retailers at its new London shopping centre after hiking up service charges by up to 75 per cent.
Hundreds of thousands of shoppers have streamed through the company's £1.6bn($3.74bn) White City mall since it opened last Thursday.

But some of the centre's retailers say they are preparing to launch a battle against Westfield after being told that service fees to cover cleaning and marketing costs will nearly double.

Retailers, including the Arcadia Group and fashion chain New Look, told The Financial Times that Westfield had originally given retailers a guide of about £8 ($18.68) per square foot to cover service fees each year.

However, they claim the shopping mall developer now wants to charge them almost £14 ($32.69) per square foot, which could push the annual cost up to £500,000 ($1.17m).

"We will be paying what was originally proposed," New Look's executive chairman Phil Wrigley told the newspaper.

Westfield said the service fees reflected the centre's "premium offer and service levels".