LOS ANGELES-Retail property owner and operator Westwood Financial Corp. has achieved its most successful year in the company's 42-year history, generating a total of $325 million in acquisitions and dispositions in 2013, GlobeSt.com reports in this exclusive story. This is a large success compared to the 2012 year-end, which totaled $200 million in deals. In total, the company completed 32 transactions.

Westwood Financial's investment strategy focuses on high-end retail properties in the West and Southwest as well as the Southeast and Midwest. Some of the notable dispositions from the year include the sale of the Gateway Shopping Center in Mission Viejo, CA, for $28.6 million and the sale of the Village at Highlands Ranch in Highlands Ranch, CO, for $14.6 million. The company also recently snuck in the sale if Knollwood Plaza in Granada Hills, CA, to Marc Needleman for $10 million.

The company completed 19 purchase transactions as well. Although the purchase price of the acquisitions is undisclosed, industry sources estimate Westwood Financial paid an average of $10 million for each asset. Notable acquisitions include the 77,103-square-foot Steele Creek Crossing retail center in Charlotte, NC, for $17.7 million from Weingarten Realty Investors.

According to Westwood Financial EVP Joe Dykstra, the company anticipates the same growth in 2014. The company already as several deals scheduled to close this month.