Midlands-based Castlemore Securities will develop one of Londons biggest retail parks after buying the Beckton Gasworks site in E6.
It has paid BG around £30m for 21.5ha (53 acres) of the 50ha (125 acre) site which is on the east side of Royal Docks Way. Castlemores slice has an open A1 planning consent for 37,160 sq m (400,000 sq ft) of retail warehousing, including a food superstore, and 9,290 sq m (100,000 sq ft) of employment use.
BG has been trying to sell the site which was once Europes biggest gasworks, employing 8,000 people for nearly 10 years. The last deal to fall through was with Sears.
Patrick Power, a director of Castlemore, said: “We spent almost 12 months in pre-contractual investigations. It is a complicated site with a lot of remediation and boundary issues. We will spend £10m this year on remediation and site-related issues. But open A1 consents dont grow on trees.”
Harvey Spack Field acted for Castlemore while DTZ advised BG.
The remainder of the site is not likely to be sold until the timing of the future extension of the A13 and A4065 and the Thames Gateway Bridge between Beckton and Thamesmead is confirmed.
EGi News 13/04/00
