Private equity real estate company Benson Elliot has swooped on its second stalled UK regeneration project.
Estates Gazette has learned that the firm will again team up with its preferred development partner, Stanhope, after being selected as preferred bidder for the £500m Arcadia development scheme in Ealing, W5.
Benson Elliot is understood to have offered £37m for the 4.2-acre West London site, just below the £40m that was being sought. It plans a residential and retail-led scheme.
Last January, the private equity firm joined forces with Stanhope to take majority ownership of the 1.7m sq ft Station Hill development in Reading, Berkshire, from Sackville Properties. It was the first deal for the €500m (£408m) Benson Elliot Real Estate Partners II Fund.
The Ealing site has been in the hands of administrators at Grant Thornton since May last year, when Irish investor Glenkerrin crumbled under a €650m debt pile.
A mismatch of ambitions between Ealing council and the administrators regarding the Arcadia project had threatened to hamper a sale.
Ealing was keen for the properties that make up the site to be sold together to enable long-held redevelopment plans for the town, while Grant Thornton had said it would sell the assets piecemeal to ensure that it recovered the largest amount possible for the National Asset Management Agency – Glen-kerrin’s main creditor.
Brendon Walsh, Ealing’s director of property and regeneration, said: “We are delighted a preferred developer has been identified to deliver a comprehensive regeneration scheme in Ealing. We have been aware for some time that there has been pent-up demand from retailers to come into Ealing, but the existing offering has been too small. This new scheme will offer great opportunities.”
He added that the arrival of Ealing Broadway Crossrail -station would make the site even more attractive to potential occupiers.
Glenkerrin’s plans for the Arcadia Centre proposed 567 homes, 200,000 sq ft of shops, and office and leisure facilities.
Benson Elliot now has a five-week lock-out period to confirm its intention to buy the site. Underbidders include Resolution and Wrenbridge.
Cushman & Wakefield advised the council; Strutt & Parker and Peter Cornforth, former director at retail agent Eaton House, acted for Benson Elliot.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
