Chinese developer buys another U.K. development

Chinese property developer R&F Properties has agreed to buy the Vauxhall Square development project for £157.77 million ($196.81 million). The seller was CLS Holdings.

R&F Properties is expected to commit approximately £1 billion ($1.25 billion) to develop the project, which will become a new commercial and community hub for the area. The 3.4-acre site is located in central London and has planning permission for a residential-led, mixed-use scheme of approximately 1.5 million square feet. CLS Holdings purchased the site 30 years ago and secured planning for the site in 2013.

It is the firm’s second U.K. investment. Recently, the developer acquired the 5.5-acre Queen’s Square located in Croydon town center. The development project is estimated to cost £500 million ($624 million).

Overseas investment from China in residential, commercial and industrial property totaled $33 billion in 2016, up 53 percent from a year earlier, according to JLL. The Uni