China’s Hualing Industry and Trade Group is to invest in three UK real estate schemes worth £1.2bn (€1.6bn).
The Xinjiang-based firm is investing in projects developed by the UK’s Scarborough Group in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.
In Sheffield, Hualing is investing in the city’s Digital Campus, a £40m commercial and office development, with 130,000 sqft of office space.
Scarborough chairman Kevin McCabe said: “For Scarborough, this is the latest chapter in a long history in China, spanning over 13 years, during which time we have established strong relationships with local partners as the foundation for significant investments in China and the Far East.
“As a family business with its roots in the north of England, we are now very proud to bring our partners in China to the UK.”
Last month, Legal & General said it was investing £162m in the Leeds scheme Thorpe Park – a £400m regeneration project.
The UK insurer, which plans to invest £1.5bn in UK regeneration projects, took a 50% stake in Thorpe Park Leeds, a 200-acre mixed-use business development site.
Scarborough Group has planning consent to build 60,000 sq ft of offices and 300 homes during a second, five-year development phase on the site.
L&G’s deal was the first since the start of the UK government’s Regeneration Investment Organisation partnership, launched earlier this year.
In Manchester, Hualing is investing in Scarborough Group’s Middlewood Locks, a £730m residential and commercial project.
Last year, two Asian property developers committed to two Scarborough Group residential schemes worth £600m in Manchester, their first investments in the UK.
Hong Kong-based developer Top Spring International and Singapore’s Metro Holdings took equal stakes in the joint venture.
