The investors who this week paid £30m for a 61% stake in social housing group Pinnacle Regeneration Group are planning to float the company on the Hong Kong stock exchange in two years.
In an exclusive interview with Estates Gazette, Hong Kong Chinese entrepreneur Sammy Lee said he planned to use London-based Pinnacle’s expertise in redeveloping social housing to build the business in the UK, China and across the world, via a Hong Kong IPO.
Lee is investing in regeneration company Pinnacle alongside Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the holding company of the billionaire Cheng family, which Lee represents, and financier Peter Fung.
In an interview following his first Pinnacle board meeting in Holborn, WC1, Lee said: “We looked at Pinnacle and we decided it was a very good business model and also it fits into our ideas for developing similar product in China.”
“If we are successful with Pinnacle, my plan is to repeat the Pinnacle model in other countries where they are facing similar housing shortage problems, initially in places such as Guanzhou in southern China, but ultimately across the world.”
Lee and the Cheng family developed The Knightsbridge, a block of 205 luxury flats opposite Harrods in SW7, which completed in 2005.
Pinnacle, run by former Savills director Godfrey Blott, is now planning to deploy between £100m and £200m into the sector over the next three years.
“We see this investment as the beginning of something significant in terms of a different approach to developing and improving housing through regeneration schemes,” said Blott.
“The Hong Kong investors know the UK property market well and understand the importance of opportunities to develop partnerships with local authorities across the country.”
Read the full interview >>
lucy.barnard@estatesgazette.com
