Steven Lowy has said he will retire from the board of the Scentre Group next year, ending a near-six decade association between the Lowy family and the retailer.

In 2014 Scentre was spun out of the Westfield retail giant, which his father Sir Frank and John Saunders founded in 1960.

Mr Lowy said he considered it was the right time to step down. He will retire at the Scentre AGM in 2019.

''It has been a privilege to serve on the board of Scentre Group since it was established following the restructure of the Westfield Group in 2014”, Mr Lowy said in a statement.

''It is not easy to leave a position in a business that has been such a large part of my life for over 30 years. I do so knowing that Scentre is in great hands and is well positioned for further growth,

Westfield was sold to the French Unibail-Rodamco group last year. Sir Frank retired from Westfield in May this year.