Capco taps investors for £225m to expand in Covent Garden

London landlord Capital & Counties will step up its spending in Covent Garden after raising £225 million from US investors today.

The company — which will soon welcome David Beckham and designer Daniel Kearns’ Kent & Curwen heritage sportswear brand to Floral Street — has tapped eight institutional investors for the funds.

The average length of the funding is 11 years although some backers have lent for up to 20 years, allowing the firm to repay some shorter-term bank debt and invest in the £2.4 billion Covent Garden estate.

“It is a massive vote of confidence in Covent Garden from long-term investors,” chief executive Ian Hawksworth said.

After the sale of its venues business for £296 million “we have quite of a lot of firepower”, he added.

At the pre-tax level, Capco returned to profit in the first half of the year, making £25.3 million compared with a £198 million loss a year ago driven by writedowns on its Earls Court project.

Although Covent Garden rose in value, the valuation of its Earl’s Court properties eased a further 2.4% to £1.1 billion.

Flats from the second phase of its Lillie Square scheme are selling at a “modest premium” to the first phase although there was a brief hiatus in sales around the general election.