Langham sale indicates shift of focus by HK investors
THE recent sale of the Langham Estate in London's West End to a prominent Hong Kong investor has been one of the few instances where Asian investors have strayed from the city's Thames riverside.
The investor paid close to GBP50 million (HK$570 million) for the estate directly north of Oxford Street, W1.
It was a bargain, considering the offer of GBP59 million last spring, which was then withdrawn.
In 1990, it was valued at GBP175 million although several properties have been disposed of since.
The vendors were the receivers of Grovewood Securities.
More commonly Asian investors from Hong Kong, Singapore and China are concentrating their investment interest along the three-kilometre stretch of the River Thames from Southwark bridge to Vauxhall bridge. Further east into the Docklands is another popular area.
With the prospect of improving communications and unusually flexible attitudes from city councils on site uses along the river, the interest is predicted to increase.
Meanwhile, P & O Properties and British Rail are joining forces to start a three-building development totalling 950,000 square feet in Elizabeth House in York Road, SE1.
So far, Asian investors attracted to the area have included a prominent Hong Kong resident who bought the Batterseas Power station to develop it into a shopping and leisure centre.
Other well-known Hong Kong investors are believed to be looking in London.
Chinese government institutions, like the Ministry of Construction, are also among those interested in the area.
A Hong Kong firm is one of the most active in the market, and believed to be interested in the rear of the Country Hall site in SE1.
The site has planning permission for 1.25 million sq ft of office space and city council officials are flexible in considering alternative retail, exhibition and trade centre uses, according to agents Richard Ellis.
''Far Eastern investors like to think as broadly as possible. That's why it takes a long time to work things through,'' said Julian Shellard, partner at Richard Ellis.
''We will not just sell this because we have got to. It is not a distressed sale, although a lot have assumed that it is.'' If a sale goes ahead it would be working closely with Japan's Shirayama Corporation which has plans to build a riverside hotel.
Other prime development sites are likely to be snapped up by Asian investors in the next 12 months, London property experts predict.
There are several sites, including the Bankside Power Station, midway between Blackfriars and Southwark bridge, and opposite St Paul's Cathedral and the Battersea wharf site in Queenstown Road, SW8, close to Chelsea bridge, which is currently on the market for about GBP15 million.
According to property consultants Hillier Parker, there is strong interest from Hong Kong investors in the Bankside Power Station site.
