Business | Property
UAE investors pick up 20% of London project
UAE investors make up 20 per cent of the UK's largest urban regeneration project, the 620 million pound (Dh4 billion) Wembley City in central London, according to senior officials.
- By Suzanne Fenton, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:55 October 7, 2008
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Dubai: UAE investors make up 20 per cent of the UK's largest urban regeneration project, the £620 million (Dh4 billion) Wembley City in central London, according to senior officials.
When asked why Gulf investors would want to plunge their money into London real estate, the answer was simple.
"Because it's London; it's the biggest financial centre in the world and it's politically stable and the legal [framework] is strong," Nick Shattock, chief executive officer of Quintain Estates and Development, developers of Wembley City, told Gulf News.
Quintain is also hoping to sell a large stake, "possibly 50 per cent", of the development to a strategic investor, Shattock said. They are looking primarily at investors from the UAE and Bahrain.
One of the main barriers, currently preventing Middle Eastern investors from going to London is planning consent. However, Quintian has amassed planning consents for 21 million square feet of development, including 15,000 homes with an estimated gross development value of £8 billion, according to Shattock.
Wembley City will be developed on a total of 11 million square feet of prime London real estate. So far, around 6.3 million square feet of the project has been developed.
Prime location
With the current outlook in the UK's property market signalling a substantial drop in prices, the time could be perfect for UAE investors in particular who have plenty of liquidity.
Shattock said that residential prices are forecast to drop 15 per cent by the end of this year and a further 10 per cent in 2009.
This is certainly good news for cash-rich investors wanting a prime piece of central London real estate.
"London will not be immune [to the drop in prices] but it is London so people will still want to come," Shattock said.
Wembley City is a massive development surrounding Wembley Arena. It will be completely mixed-use, including residential, commercial, retail and entertainment. On completion, the density of Wembley City will equal that of Barcelona and Paris combined.
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