Dalian Wanda, a Hong Kong-listed developer and one of four firms active in real estate under pressure from the Chinese authorities over major overseas investments, has agreed to sell One Nine Elms hotel and residential development site in London.
According to a regulatory filling, two of the company’s units have sold their interests in One Nine Elms, a development with a twin set of skyscrapers on the south bank of London’s River Thames for about £59 mln (€67 mln), plus a loan payment of £159 mln to Wanda Hotel Development, which designs and operates hotels and is a listed subsidiary of Dalian Wanda.
The buyer is said to be Hong Kong-listed Guangzhou R&F Properties Co.
Wanda paid £88.8 mln for the plot in 2013. The group's decision to sell the Nine Elms site - a project with an expected end value of £700 mln - comes amid moves by the Chinese government to limit domestic companies' overseas investments in the wake of several high profile deals and a mounting debt load.
The concern is that some firms are taking on excessive debt, according to China's state council. Groups including Wanda, Fosun, HNA and Anbang are said to be in the firing line. All four are active investors in UK or European real estate.
Dalian Wanda
Founded in 1988 by Wang Jianlin, one of the richest people in China, Dalian Wanda is the world's largest private property developer and owner. The conglomerate is also the world's biggest cinema operator due to its US holdings.
Last August, the company also walked away from its planned €532 mln acquisition of Nine Elms Square development site. UK-based regeneration specialist St Modwen Properties had announced in June that its joint venture with Vinci was selling Nine Elms Square to Wanda Commercial Properties.
Instead, the prime 4-hectare development site with permission for 1,900 apartments was eventually purchased by R&F Properties and CC Land Holdings.
R&F Properties, which is based in Guangzhou in Southern China, also completed two other residential-led investments in London last year.
