AUSTRALIA'S two biggest property management groups Westfield Group and Lend Lease are at a stand-off over the management rights to Cairns' biggest shopping centre, Cairns Central.

The dispute is over who should manage the shopping centre which is jointly owned by the two property giants.

An attempt by Westfield in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Monday to force a public auction of the shopping centre – valued at $407 million – was rejected as was an alternative bid to appoint receivers to sell the centre.

Cairns Central is presently managed by Lend Lease whose contract runs out on June 30. Westfield bought its 50 per cent share in 2006 from Coles Myer and put itself forward as the centre’s manager but this was rejected by Lend Lease.

While Lend Lease can continue to manage Cairns Central until June 30, it is uncertain what will happen after this.

Neither Lend Lease nor Westfield would comment yesterday when contacted by The Cairns Post.

In the NSW Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Clifford Einstein, ruled that even if the court had jurisdiction to grant the relief sought by Westfield it would not be an appropriate case in which to do so.

Reports on the hearing said Justice Einstein noted that Lend Lease and Westfield had not yet reached a total impasse and that even if they did, there were other avenues open to resolve the long-running management dispute.

One avenue was for Lend Lease’s Australian Prime Property Fund to buy Westfield’s $203.5 million share.

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