Hong Kong tycoon plotting swoop on £560m Earls Court
ONE of the world’s richest men is lining up a deal to buy a prime west London development in a major vote of confidence in Brexit Britain.
Billionaire Li Ka-shing ( pictured), one of the most influential businessmen in Asia, is in talks with Capital & Counties (Capco) about the site at earls Court. The 90-yearold’s firm CK Asset holdings, run by his son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, is looking to add the plot to his empire in Britain, which includes everything from ports and water companies to luxury apartment blocks. When they were last valued at the end of June, Capco’s earls Court assets were worth £558.9m. They consist of Capco’s 63pc stake in the earls Court Partnership, worth £518.9m, and some smaller areas worth £40m.
Capco owns earls Court Partnership along with Transport for London. It includes the land formerly occupied by the demolished earls Court exhibition Centre, which the firm is planning to turn into 7,500 homes with offices and retail space.
The Lillie Square apartment blocks, which sit next to the earls Court Partnership land and are well on their way to being finished, are not part of any deal, Capco said.
Despite its prime location, the planned regeneration has hit a number of stumbling blocks.
The flats in Lillie Square were slower to sell than expected, and brokers warned that the broader project would be hard hit by a slowing in the London housing market.
Residents in social housing estates which sat on the 77 acres of land also claimed they were being evicted, and protested against Capco’s plans. hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council had approved plans in 2012 to demolish the two social housing estates.
As well as the interest from Li Kashing, Capco said it had received a number of proposals which it was considering.
The property investment firm may be glad to offload the earls Court assets, as since 2015 the value of its stake has fallen by 30pc – from £741m to £518.9m.
Capco, which also owns a chunk of London’s Covent Garden shopping district, was already planning to split its business in two as the falling value of earls Court has weighed on its shares, which have slid 14.8pc so far this year.
The demerger, which will see the Covent Garden assets and the earls Court land split into two listed businesses, is still being explored, Capco said.
Shares climbed 5.7pc, or 14.4p, to 269p following the announcement.
Victor Li appears to have a taste for London property. After taking over his father’s empire, he bought an office tower for £1bn in June.
The family firm has developed a number of properties in the capital, including Royal Gate Kensington, Montevetro, Belgravia Place and Albion Riverside.