In terms of location, the firm is focusing on large cities nationwide. “We intend to continue to shape the portfolio by leaning on the larger MSAs in the country,” adds Dykstra. “We are going to be offensive when it comes to navigating the business and are looking to bigger and bigger cities as well as gaining more of a foothold in the West Coast.”

The restructuring follows a recent rebranding for the firm, which included a new logo, new signage, and a new tagline “Retail. Evolved.”

LOS ANGELES—Westwood Financial Corp. has restructured the majority of its retail assets into a $1.2 billion company, consolidating 280 entities that covered a total of 77 assets into a single company. The move streamlines management and will help to drive growth at the firm.

“This was really a natural and strategic evolution of a company that was grown organically by two entrepreneurs,” Randy Banchik, co-CEO of Westwood Financial Corp., tells GlobeSt.com. “The company has a history in real estate investment of changing product types as the market needed and adjusting our management style as the opportunities in the market changed. As a 45-year-old company, this was a coming together of a need for succession planning, streamline operations and to reduce the complexity of a very large portfolio and solidify our investment platform so that we can have maximum opportunities for growth and a successful operation of the portfolio.”

The firm had a total of 120 assets prior to the restructuring. The balance of the properties will continue to be managed as a third-party ownership by the new firm. “The balance of the properties was predominately owned by the founders of the company and those will continue to be managed third-party by the new company,” Joe Dykstra, co-CEO of Westwood Financial Corp., tells GlobeSt.com. The complicated transaction required 28 attorneys and 20 title and escrow company representatives as well as the full 81-employee base of the firm to complete.

The restructuring positions the firm for optimal growth. Westwood Financial is looking to grow its portfolio and gain a greater foothold in the Western US by focusing on neighborhood and daily convenience properties, which they say represents the new retail. “Our goal is to continue to evolve this portfolio into a stronger retail investment platform and to continue to evolve the company into a top performing retail operating company,” says Banchik. “We now have a platform and a synergistic group of properties. The growth of our portfolio going forward is going to focus on the manner in which we can acquire and mold the portfolio and the types of that we will target to grow that portfolio, which will be directed by the way that retail centers are evolving.”

In terms of location, the firm is focusing on large cities nationwide. “We intend to continue to shape the portfolio by leaning on the larger MSAs in the country,” adds Dykstra. “We are going to be offensive when it comes to navigating the business and are looking to bigger and bigger cities as well as gaining more of a foothold in the West Coast.”

The restructuring follows a recent rebranding for the firm, which included a new logo, new signage, and a new tagline “Retail. Evolved.”