Chinese developer R&F Properties has agreed to buy Vauxhall Square in London for £157.77 mln (€184.5 mln).
Vendor CLS Holdings said the 1.4-hectare site came with planning permission for a residential-led, mixed-use development of around 139,000 m2.
R&F Properties is expected to invest around £1 bn in the scheme, which will comprise eight buildings including two 52-storey towers, two large office buildings and 578 residential apartments, as well as hotel, retail and leisure facilities.
The new owners will also inherit responsibility for relocating a hostel at 62 Bondway, resulting in a net outlay of £145 mln.
Henry Klotz, executive chairman of CLS, said: 'Having bought the site nearly 30 years ago and secured planning in 2013, we are pleased now to have exchanged contracts at a price above its year-end valuation.
'R&F Properties has extensive residential development experience and we are delighted that it will soon create a vibrant residential, office and retail development to enhance Vauxhall, an area in which we retain over £330 million of long-term investments.
'We intend to reinvest the proceeds in our core business: high yielding offices with good asset management opportunities within key European cities.'
Xia Ning of R&F Properties said: 'The generous retail and leisure offering will supplement the hotel and office space and will bring a significant number of jobs to Vauxhall and enhance the local economy.'
JLL Residential advised CLS on the sale, while CBRE acted for R&F Properties.
CBRE director Tom Moore said: 'This is the second acquisition R&F have made into the London development market in as many months, highlighting their confidence in London’s growing residential market.'
Last month Hong Kong-listed R&F, based in Guangzhou, bought the freehold to a 2.2 hectare site outside Croydon Town Hall which has been earmarked for a £500 mln redevelopment, including hundreds of flats, new shops and a refurbishment of the Nestlé building.
