Retail mall developer Westfield has sold its interest in three UK shopping centres which it does not regard as core to its operations.

The Australian-based firm, whose scaled down £275 million Broadway scheme in Bradford is still on hold, has sold its remaining stake in shopping centres in Belfast, Guildford and Tunbridge Wells for £159 million.

Joint chief executive Steven Lowry said: “These assets were originally purchased in 2000, at the time of our initial entry into the UK.

“Since that time we have refocused our business into iconic assets such as Westfield London and Stratford City and we continue to examine new growth opportunities in the UK.

“Along with the recent sale of Nottingham, these assets became non-core to our UK portfolio.”

The Westfield Group has announced net profits of £1.04 billion in the full to December 31, an increase of 37.6 per cent on the previous year. Net property income rose by seven per cent, property management income and project income rose by 92 per cent. In the UK net property income was 36 per cent higher.

“2011 was a significant year for the group. We continued to implement our strategy of increasing return on equity with the joint venturing of the £1.75 billion Stratford City and the sale of Cairns (Australia) and Nottingham.

“Importantly, we expanded our business platform into strategic new markets with our entry into Brazil as well as our investment in major iconic retail development projects in Milan, Italy, and at the World Trade Center in New York.

“We continue to look at attractive development and acquisition opportunities globally, and are well placed to deliver long term sustainable earnings growth. We are focused on investing the group’s capital in highly productive shopping centres with strong franchise characteristics that are resilient through economic cycles.”

Westfield expects to begin work on between £850 billion and £1 billion new developments in 2012 and 2013.