Council Threatens Legal Action after Capco Reveals Plans to Sell Earls Court

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Local campaigners also stage protest calling on London Mayor to intervene

H&F Council is threatening legal action and a possible 'criminal prosecution' after plans were announced by Capco to sell the troubled Earls Court development to a Hong Kong billionaire.

Local campaigning group Save Earls Court Supporters Club, made up of residents and local business owners, have also staged a protest by projecting a series of messages along with black and white film clips from Earls Court’s past on the perimeter of the development.

Developer Capital & Counties, Capco for short, has told shareholders that it is "in discussions" about a deal with CK Asset Holdings, a company controlled by the family of veteran business magnate Li Ka-shing.

However, this has provoked an angry response from Hammersmith and Fulham council, which is aiming to regain control of the Gibbs Green and West Kensington estates.

The estates were sold to Capco for £110 million by the previous Tory administration in September 2012.

A Capco spokeswoman said the sale of the estates "was entered into freely by LBHF and followed all necessary process in the appropriate way, including sign off by LBHF’s Cabinet and the Secretary of State."

However the council said in a statement that it had launched an investigation of that sale "and already have independent financial advice that the 2012 decision was inadequate in several respects".

The council added: "This could lead to legal action being taken, which could lead to criminal prosecution."

This news is the latest twist in a long-running saga which has left the residents of the estates facing uncertainty over the future of their homes.

It is also another escalation in the dispute between council and developer over the estates, which form part of the vast 77 acre swathe of land in Earl’s Court — including the site of the former Exhibition Centre — being prepared for a £12 billion redevelopment including 7,500 new homes.

Residents of the People's Estate have been fighting a long campaign to save their homes from being bulldozed by Capco. As they say on their website: " Back in 2011, our community put on the boxing gloves. We’ve not taken them off since!"

This year, they appeared to have succeeded when Council leader Stephen Cowan said he had struck a deal in March with Capco’s chief executive, Ian Hawksworth, to hand the estates back to the borough.

However, Capco denied that this agreement had been made.

Now, a Stock Exchange announcement from Capco said it had received "a number of proposals in relation to Capco's interests in Earl’s Court which it is considering. This includes discussions with CK Asset Holdings Ltd regarding a conditional proposal for the sale of substantially all of Capco’s interests in Earl’s Court Properties."

The would not include Lillie Square, the first phase of the Earl’s Court masterplan on Fulham's Seagrave Road.

The offers follow an announcement in May that Capco was planning a demerger, separating the Earl’s Court project from the company’s holdings in Covent Garden where it is the dominant landlord.

Capco said it was continuing with preparations for the demerger during the talks with CK Asset Holdings.

The slowdown in the sale of upmarket property market and the ongoing dispute with the council has forced Capco into a series of writedowns of the value of its Earl’s Court land to £707 million.

In March, the 31 storey Empress State Building which Capco had intended to turn into apartments was instead sold to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime for £250 million.

In August Council leader Stephen Cowan said: " For nearly ten years now, thousands of residents who live on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates have suffered too much uncertainty and worry about the future of their homes.

"We think it’s right that we end that. I hope the Capco board share that sentiment and act with expediency to do so."

Save Earls Court Supporters Club meanwhile are calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to listen to the west London community and to intervene.

A spokesperson said: “Mayor Khan must listen. He has an opportunity to ditch the current Earl’s Court Masterplan and create a green and sustainable future for all of us.”

The campaigners are also calling for the Mayor to support the building of 'the world’s greenest venue' to replace the demolished Earls Court Exhibition Centre. This, they say, would generate overnight stays and support the night-time economy, and profits from the venue could be used to improve London's transport network and to benefit the common good.

You can read more about this campaign and sign a petition here.

November 14, 2018