The biggest developer of tall towers in the Middle East is making its debut in the UK with the purchase of a £600m project in one of the capital’s development hotspots.
Damac Properties has fought off competition from global private equity to buy the Vauxhall Bondway development in Nine Elms from McGrove, a joint venture between Citygrove and McLaren Properties.
The jv began investigating funding options for the KPF-designed Jenga Tower, which includes 450 flats, 40,000 sq ft of offices and 15,000 sq ft of shops, in November last year. CBRE was appointed to sell or part fund the project at 69-71 Bondway, SW8, as well as look for debt financing. Similar sites in the area have been attracting bids of more than £100m.
Dubai-based Damac is understood to have been keen to break into the UK market for several years and has recently lost out on a number of high-profile development projects, including New Scotland Yard, SW1, which was bought by Abu Dhabi Financial Group for £370m in December.
A source said a sale of the site to Damac would “secure its delivery”, with construction now expected to begin as early as January 2016.
McGrove bought the 0.7-acre site, currently occupied by Vauxhall Bondway Self-Storage, in 2012 for around £30m. The jv then worked through several obstacles to gain full planning for the project. The latest, a potential judicial review threat, was cleared last week. The sale is likely to have secured a significant profit.
McLaren and Citygrove declined to comment; Damac could not be reached for comment.
