Derwent London in talks with Peninsula Hotel for Grosvenor sale

19th Jun 2013 07:51

Derwent London is in talks to sell its 50 per cent interest in London property 1-5 Grosvenor Place to Peninsula Hotels for 132.5m pounds before costs.The company's interest was valued at £78m on December 31st, representing a 70% premium.The property consists mainly of offices and extends to 168,000 square feet (sq ft) at Hyde Park Corner, Belgravia. It is a joint venture between Derwent and Grosvenor. Derwent has received £200m of proceeds from the venture since the start of 2012.Following the disposal, Peninsula Hotels and Grosvenor will work together towards redevelopment of the site as an hotel and residential scheme. "These heads of terms move Derwent London towards securing most of our anticipated gain from the redevelopment of 1-5 Grosvenor Place," said Chief Executive Officer, John Burns."The group will receive the proceeds five to six years ahead of the expected completion date for the scheme and continues to invest in other opportunities, principally its extensive development pipeline which amounts to over 2.5m sq ft of space that could potentially be delivered before 2020." Shares rose 0.70% to 2,309p at 08:07 Wednesday.RD