Restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus currently limit the operations of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in several of its markets, as announced on March 16, 2020. 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 earningsremain uncertain.
In light of this evolving situation, URW has taken all precautionary measures needed to ensure its access to liquidity. The Group now has €10.2 Bn 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.
As noted in the release of March 16, 2020, the Group 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.
