H&F Council Leader Urges Saudi Arabia's King Not to Buy Earls Court
Saying in letter he really doesn't want to get involved in 'dubious development'
Hammersmith & Fulham council’s leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan is urging to the king of Saudi Arabia not to get involved in taking over the hugely controversial Earls Court’s development from current owners Capco.
After the story was first reported in the Evening Standard, Cllr Cowan confirmed it by tweeting @StephenCowan: "@EveningStandard reporting on my intention to write and warn the King of Saudi Arabia on the dangers of getting involved in Capco’s Earls Court scheme."
His message to King Salman comes after a consortium led by property tycoon Nick Candy, and believed to include Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said it is mooting a takeover offer for £2.1 billion developer Capco.
Capco owns swathes of Covent Garden along with the site in Earl’s Court, where 7500 homes are planned.
However, as local readers are aware, the Labour-run council in Hammersmith & Fulham is aiming to use a compulsory purchase order to buy some of the land, and it also wants Capco to return two former council estates, Gibbs Green and West Kensington, which the former Conservative administration in H&F sold to the developer in 2012.
This has led to a lengthy campaign by residents of these threatened 'People's Estates' to remain in their homes.
And at a cabinet meeting on 7 October, council chiefs voted to go ahead with a bid to force the company to sell off sections of the land, and break a long-running deadlock.
The vote came after Cllr Cowan, pictured above, slammed Capco for leaving much of the site 'desolate and derelict', adding: "It’s hard to see a less competent approach to redevelopment than the one that Capital and Counties have taken."
You can read this full story here.
Capco has reportedly been trying to sell its stake in Earl’s Court for up to a year. The Mail on Sunday reported on 6 October that Capco has been in talks with property giants including: Delancey, Canary Wharf Group, Hong Kong-based CK Asset Holdings, and 'Asia’s richest man', Li Ka-shing.
A spokesperson for Capco said this was simply 'speculation'.
Meanwhile Candy Ventures has confirmed in a statement on its website that a consortium led by
Candy Ventures, an investment vehicle of Nicholas Candy, that it is in the early stages of considering a possible cash offer for Capco and it will announces its firm intention by 18 November.
Capco has also released a statement, noting the announcement by Candy Ventures and saying: "At this stage there has been no approach made to the Company by Candy Ventures or any other party.
"The Board has full confidence in the Company’s strategy and management to continue to deliver significant shareholder value. The Company is well advanced in executing the separation of its two prime central London estates Covent Garden and Earls Court.
"On 20 October 2019, the Company entered into a short period of exclusivity with an entity established by Delancey, on behalf of its client fund and APG, in relation to the possible sale of Earls Court. The Board continues to focus on maximising shareholder value.
"At this stage the Board recommends shareholders take no action. A further announcement will be made when appropriate."
Cllr Cowan said that his letter to King Salman would point out that Compulsory Purchase Order for the land would go ahead no matter who owned it. And he added: "We will say that he really doesn’t want the moral entanglement of getting involved in such a dubious development."
With contribution from Owen Sheppard - Local Democracy Reporter
November 1, 2019