UK property tycoon Simon Halabi is reportedly set to sell his one-third stake in the troubled Shard of Glass skyscraper project. The Syrian-born investor is understood to have received a £30 mln cash offer from some Qatari investment funds for his interest in the site over London Bridge station. Here plans are to build a 310-m tall glass-covered skyscraper which would be worth up to £1.4 bn on completion in end-2012.
UK property tycoon Simon Halabi is reportedly set to sell his one-third stake in the troubled Shard of Glass skyscraper project. The Syrian-born investor is understood to have received a £30 mln cash offer from some Qatari investment funds for his interest in the site over London Bridge station. Here plans are to build a 310-m tall glass-covered skyscraper which would be worth up to £1.4 bn on completion in end-2012.
Last week the same Qatari funds bought another one-third stake in the Shard scheme from CLS Holdings, a quoted property company. In end-2007 CLS warned that construction of the tower was to be delayed because the turmoil in the financial markets has driven up the cost of borrowing. The 72-storey project, designed by Renzo Piano, would need a £400 mln (EUR 575 mln) funding to go ahead. Although negotiations with the banks were at 'an advanced stage' last year, the talks to secure the loan have been affected by the recent adverse credit markets.
London-based Sellar Property, the other partner in the scheme, is expected to seal a deal with the new Qatari funds to give each part equal control over the venture. According to newspaper the Times on line, Sellar would also remain in charge of the project development.
