FINANCE: Capital & Counties has reported strong demand for flats at its Lillie Square residential scheme at Earls Court in an upbeat trading update.
The investor and developer said the first phase of Lillie Square comprising 237 units was successfully launched in March with the opening of the sales office on Lillie Road.
In the five weeks since launch, 204 of the 213 units initially released are reserved or exchanged totalling more than £200m of sales, with pricing on individual units achieving up to £1,885 per sq ft.
CapCo said the initial launch was focused on standard units, with premium units to be released shortly.
Overall, the average sales price for phase 1 is expected to be between £1,400 and £1,500 per sq ft.
Construction of phase 1 is on track to start in summer this year and a £130m debt facility – of which CapCo has a 50% share – to fund these costs is expected to be signed shortly.
Updating on other activity at Earls Court during the period from 1 January to 2 May, CapCo recapped that detailed planning consent was granted for Earls Court Village, which represents the majority of the EC1 and EC2 area.
The detailed proposals for this part of the masterplan cover 16 acres and provide for 2.4m sq ft of residential-led, mixed-use space.
This will include more than 1,200 new homes, over three acres of publicly accessible park and the first phase of the new high street.
Resolution to grant detailed planning consent was received for the Empress State Building for a conversion from commercial to residential including 340 homes.
Earls Court Partnership, the jv with Transport for London, was established in March and will enable the development of EC1 and EC2 in line with the Earls Court masterplan.
CapCo added that, while all judicial review challenges to date have been successfully defended, the risk of further judicial review applications could not be discounted.
In Covent Garden, the group said it had continued to drive value growth by completing leasing transactions representing £3.6m of rental income at 3.6% above ERV, including four new retail and restaurant lettings.
It has said its ERV target is £75m by December 2016.
Also in Covent Garden, CapCo said it had completed £46m of acquisitions between 1 January and 2 May. These include 7 Garrick Street , 23-24 Henrietta Street and 22-23 James Street .
The final flat in The Russell has exchanged. The average sales price for the development, which comprises five flats, was in excess of £2,400 per sq ft.
The residential conversions for seven apartments at The Southampton and nine apartments at The Beecham are on track for delivery later this year.
On development, preliminary work for the Kings Court and Carriage Hall developments has commenced, with construction expected to start in autumn 2014.
The group’s financial position remains strong, with a loan to value of 17% (based on 31 December 2013 property values) and liquidity of £425m.
Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of CapCo, said: “We have had a positive start to the year as we create and grow value across our London estates. Covent Garden thrives as a world-class destination, with strong leasing momentum and a number of acquisitions. The re-imagination of Earls Court is moving forward following detailed planning consents and the establishment of the joint venture with TfL. Lillie Square was launched successfully with over 200 units reserved or exchanged, following strong demand for this premium residential development.”
bridget.o’connell@estatesgazette.com
