Capital & Counties Properties PLC and Transport for London announced that they have established a joint venture, Earls Court Partnership Limited (Earls Court Partnership) which will enable the development of Earls Court 1 & 2 in line with the Earls Court Masterplan.
Earls Court Partnership has been formed with Capco owning 63 per cent and TfL 37 per cent of the shares respectively. The Joint Venture has appointed a board of directors which comprises four representatives from Capco and three representatives from TfL. Capco has also been appointed as the business and development manager to enable the development of Earls Court 1 & 2 to be coordinated with the wider development of the Masterplan.
The Masterplan will deliver 7,500 new homes and 10,000 new jobs. It will also see the development of a new primary school, a new leisure center, new health facilities as well as community and cultural spaces. Thirty seven acres of green open space will be provided, including a new five acre park and there will also be significant improvements to the transport infrastructure including increased capacity at Earls Court, West Kensington and West Brompton underground stations.
TfL owns the freehold to the exhibition centers known as Earls Court 1 & 2 and Capco is the leaseholder of both sites. In addition to its leasehold interest, Capco owns certain other adjacent land interests, including the Northern Access Road, which will be contributed to the Joint Venture.
It is anticipated that the joint venture arrangements will complete in full once vacant possession is available, which will result in new 999 year leases over Earls Court 1 & 2 being granted to the Joint Venture. In addition, on completion the Joint Venture will acquire other smaller properties in the Earls Court area currently owned by Capco.
Gary Yardley, Investment Director of Capco, commented: “We are delighted to finalise this agreement and look forward to working with TfL. The re-imagination of Earls Court is moving forward and presents a unique opportunity to establish a new address in central London. Together with our partners, we will bring 7,500 new homes, 10,000 new jobs to the area, and benefits not just for the local economy, but for London as a whole.”
Graeme Craig, Director of Commercial Development of TfL, commented: “This is another great step forward in the development of the Earls Court Masterplan which will create much needed homes and jobs for London whilst generating substantial revenues for us to reinvest back into the transport network.
“This is the first example of our new approach of retaining and investing in our assets across London, working in partnership with leading developers like Capco, which will deliver real long-term value for fare and taxpayers.”
Source: Capco
