Due to restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus on March 16, 2020, Unibail-RodamcoWestfield had limited its operations in several of its markets. Since then, further restrictions have been added in France and Germany and the Group’s US centres will also be substantially closed for the time being. The duration and extent of the situation and its impact on the Group’s earnings remain uncertain. In light of this evolving situation, URW has taken all precautionary measures needed to ensure its access to liquidity.
The Group now has €10.2bn in cash on hand and undrawn credit lines, which provides it with the liquidity needed to cover all expected funding needs even under an extreme “stress test” scenario. URW has also implemented a programme to actively reduce non-staff expenses, defer non-essential capital expenditure and make use of any relevant facilities or arrangements provided by the various national authorities to assist companies through the crisis. The Group is already prepared to increase the scope of these measures if the crisis were to persist for an extended period.
