New owner for Wembley as Quintain accepts bid

THE final whistle was blown on yet another trophy London property development after Quintain Estates recommended a £700m or 131p a share cash bid from US private equity fund Lone Star.

Quintain owns the 85-acre site at Wembley Park adjacent to the national stadium which will stage Sunday’s London Community Shield clash between Arsenal and Chelsea.

Its shares jumped above the bid to close 24p higher at 131p amid speculation that another interested party could join the fray.

Broker Sanlam Securities said that the premium is not hugely generous. Although the bid is recommended by the management and is a decent premium to Tuesday’s closing price, it is only 19pc above the recent high of 111p in June and only 7pc above the most recent reported net asset value.

Lone Star’s Angus Dodd said: ‘Wembley Park is one of the most exciting urban renewal projects in Europe and completes our experience in this segment of the market. We intend to contribute significant additional financial resources to help Quintain in its next phase of growth to accelerate delivery at Wembley Park, building more homes more quickly and continuing the creation of a cohesive and exciting new community’.

Quintain, run by Max James, owns swathes of property around Wembley Stadium, including the new London Designer Outlet and Wembley Arena. It has planning permission for around 5500 homes in the area of which 835 are under construction.

Lone Star has dealt in the UK property market before. It recently transacted a deal to bring together 89 UK hotels to form a £1bn company, Amaris. The plan is for it eventually to be floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Stakes in Quintain have changed hands more times over the years than a pack of Paul Daniels’ playing cards. Veteran property investor Jack Petchey, former Tottenham Hotspur director Paul Kemsley and activist investor Laxey Partners have all been in and out of the stock on the hopes that one day a bidder will pounce.

That day has arrived but the market is telling us that Lone Star is not the only player on the pitch.