Inquiry into £5bn Shaftesbury and Capco merger

THE £5bn tie-up of two West End landlords will be investigated by the competition regulator to see if it could harm shoppers or other businesses.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it would look into the merger between Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties.

The deal was announced in June and would create a company with a multibillion-pound property portfolio in London.

The CMA said yesterday it had opened a file on the merger, looking at whether the tie-up could “result in a substantial lessening of competition”.

It has asked businesses that may be affected to submit any feedback on the deal by the start of December. After that point, it will decide whether to launch a more in-depth investigation.

Shareholders in Shaftesbury will own more of the business than their Capco counterparts under the deal.

Shaftesbury’s chairman, Jonathan Nicholls, said: “The merger unites two complementary and adjacent real estate portfolios under single ownership.”