Capco to acquire stake in Shaftesbury

Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) has agreed to buy a 26.3 percent stake in London rival Shaftesbury from Hong Kong tycoon Samuel Tak Lee’s Veloqx, a discretionary trust fund, for £436 million pounds (€487 million/$540.7 million).

Capco and Shaftesbury own large property portfolios, including shops, offices and restaurants in the West End. Capco has a £2.6 billion (€2.9 billion/$3.23 billion) estate in Covent Garden, while Shaftesbury has a £4 billion (€4.5 billion/$4.97 billion) empire across Chinatown, Carnaby Street and Seven Dials.

It is consistent with Capco’s strategy to invest in attractive and complementary opportunities on or near the Covent Garden estate. While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the group’s customers and business in the near term, the Capco board continues to believe in the resilience and long-term fundamentals of prime central London and in particular the West End. It maintains a strong balance sheet with acces