Delancey and APG have completed acquisition of Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) interests in their Earls Court development site for £425 million, and say they will come up with a new plan for the 25 acre site.
The purchase was made by Delancey on behalf of its client fund, and APG on behalf of its pension fund clients. Transport for London’s (TfL) interests in the project remain the same and it will work alongside the Delancey/APG JV to deliver what the partners describe as “one of the most important mixed-use developments in London”.
In parallel with the completion of the purchase, Delancey’s first action with Stephen Cowan, the Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has been to terminate the Conditional Land Sale Agreement between Capco entities and LBHF and to return land to the Council which formed part of the previous Earls Court masterplan, including the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates.
The Earls Court site covers over 25 acres of land that formerly housed the Earls Court Exhibition Centres. It sits within the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea, and is London’s largest cleared Zone 1 development site. The site has an existing detailed planning consent, secured a number of years ago as part of the wider Earls Court masterplan.
However, Delancey and TfL say they intend to formulate an entirely new London Plan compliant vision for the site, including the provision of more affordable homes than the existing consents, “working in close collaboration with all interested parties and local stakeholders, to realise its huge potential on a basis that works for all”.
The partners say they will lead the delivery of a new approach that takes in to account LBHF’s Industrial Strategy. The intention is to build on the extensive site preparation and infrastructure work already completed, and start afresh with a dedicated Earls Court based specialist team.
