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Bloomberg
A group led by luxury property developer Nicholas Candy is considering making an offer for Capital & Counties (CapCo) Properties Plc, whose stock has cratered amid London prime real estate’s longest slump in decades.
Capco’s shares rose 8% in London on Monday, valuing the firm at $2.8 billion. The stock had lost nearly half its value from its 2015 peak before today’s gains as the company struggled to find buyers for its holdings in the Earls Court district of London.
There’s no certainty that an offer will be made, according to a statement on Monday from Candy Ventures, the investment company controlled by Nicholas.
The group will make an announcement by November 18 of its intention.
CapCo has struggled with its Earls Court holdings as London’s prime real estate market endures the longest slump in decades. Independent valuers have cut the price of land in the capital’s upmarket district since 2015.
The company has been weighing the sale of the land, which has planning permission for about 7,500 homes, but so far the bids have all come in below book value.
CapCo said in July it planned to spin off its holdings in the London tourist and shopping haven of Covent Garden as a separate listed company after it couldn’t find buyers for its assets in the Earls Court district. The separation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.