In a trading update, published 28 November, Earls Court & Olympia London owner Capital & Counties (Capco) stated that the first phase of demolition of the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centres is now complete, with the final phase expected to take 12 months.
The company also remains on course to achieve its ERV (estimated recovery value) target of £100m for the Covent Garden estate by December 2017.
Analysing the latest results covering the period from 1 July – 28 November 2016, Capco chief executive Ian Hawksworth commented: “Whilst 2016 has been characterised by uncertainty in the London market, we have continued to introduce excellent brands, set new rental tones and seen the successful transformation of the Royal Opera House Arcade. We have also expanded our estate further on Southampton Street, a key access point to the Piazza. At Earls Court, we continue to de-risk our land holdings and have completed the first phase of demolition of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centres to ground level. Construction of Phase 1 at Lillie Square nears completion and we are on track to welcome our first residents in the coming weeks.”
Capco, Hawksworth added, was in a strong financial position with over £500m in cash and available facilities.
While the first phase of demolition of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centres had completed, demolition to basement level will commence shortly, Capco said. This final phase of demolition is expected to take 12 months at a cost of circa £40m.
Capco’s financial statement added that Olympia London continued to see good demand.
Capco also recently announced that Situl Jobanputra will take up the position of chief financial officer with effect from 1 January 2017. This follows the resignation of Soumen Das as managing director and CFO.
The responsibility for the oversight of Covent Garden reverts to Ian Hawksworth.
Situl is an experienced corporate financier having led Deutsche Bank’s UK real estate investment banking team before joining Capco in January 2014 to provide support on corporate finance and capital markets and to oversee the finance functions at Earls Court and Lillie Square.
