London Olympic organisers say they have reached their domestic sponsorship target of 700 million pounds (R7.98-billion) after signing up Westfield as the official shopping center of the 2012 Games.

Westfield becomes the 44th domestic sponsor of the games.

Organisers say the company will be a tier-three sponsor, a status that usually sells for about 10 million pounds ($16 million).

   The deal was announced less than a week before Westfield opens a  giant shopping center on the edge of the Olympic Park in east London. The 1.9-million-square-foot (175,000-square-meter) facility  is billed as the largest urban mall in Europe.

   Organisers say the deal takes them past the 700-million-pound ($1.1 billion) mark in domestic sponsorship revenues.

The target was to raise between 650 million ($1 billion) and 700 million pounds ($1.1 billion).