“They’ve allocated $4 billion of shareholder capital to those geographies and collectively made zero for shareholders. That’s not a good outcome,” Mawhinney said.
Lombardo is a long-time Lendlease employee. Before taking the reins from Steve McCann in May 2021, he ran its Asian operations.
LendLease developments in Melbourne.Credit: Eamon Gallagher
At his first public press conference, he said he would work to simplify Lendlease sprawling business, slashing one in 10 jobs. There have been calls for Lombardo to be replaced, but other internal prospects have already left including the head of America Denis Hickey.
His efforts to simplify Lendlease have involved selling the Australian Services operations and a sizeable proportion of the US military housing asset management revenue stream.
The sale of its retirement business has incurred a $112 million tax bill, and the company is now involved in a stoush with the Australian Tax Office.
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In December last year, it sold 12 Australian master-planned communities projects to Stockland and its capital partner, Supalai Australia Holdings, for $1.3 billion. It has also sold its Life Sciences business in Asia in a joint venture with Warburg Pincus for $147 million.
In Melbourne, its $1.7 billion Queen Victoria Market project has received final planning approval to replenish its pipeline of development projects in Australia.
At the Euston, London project, the UK government recently announced it was fast-tracking the release of land for development at Euston station.
The government listed Lendlease as the master developer and reaffirmed its commitment to delivering Euston, including the life sciences hub, on the back of private financing.
Over in New York, the 1 Java project which is the site of a two-tower, 834-unit project, Lendlease is making great headway on what it has said is its most ambitious sustainable and inclusive multifamily project.
Meanwhile, the core and shell at Tokyo’s Data Centre has been completed for the first data centre development project just outside the main city.
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