Westfield to sell Olympic mall shares

The Australian retail developer Westfield is in advanced talks to sell a huge stake in its shopping centre next to the 2012 Olympics site in Stratford, east London.

Westfield is believed to be close to selling shares worth £750m to Henderson Global Investors, the fund manager. Henderson plans to create a fund that would be open clients to invest in.

The world's biggest property developer will spend £1.45bn building Westfield Stratford, which will open in the second half of 2011 and will house 300 retailers and a Vue cinema.