£68m payday for merger bankers

THE £5bn merger of Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties (Capco) will trigger a £68.7m payday for City bankers, lawyers and spin doctors.

Documents released last night by two of the country’s biggest landlords show each are expecting to rack up fees of more than £30m associated with the deal.

Legal, financial, accounting and public relations advice, as well as other fees, will cost Capco £33m. While Shaftesbury’s bill will be £35.7m.

In May the pair announced a merger that will unite some of the most valuable areas of London’s West End. Shaftesbury owns large parts of Chinatown, Carnaby Street and upmarket Fitzrovia, north of Oxford Street. Capco’s portfolio includes Covent Garden market. The combined firm will control 2.9m square feet of prime real estate in central London, including shops, restaurants, offices and housing.

Shaftesbury shareholders would own 53pc of the combined company, with Capco investors owning the remaining 47pc.