Candys set to lose US deal
THE Candy brothers have been dealt a fresh blow as their plans to develop luxury apartments in the Beverley Hills district of Los Angeles are set to be scrapped later this week.
The eight-acre site was to be turned into 235 apartments, shops and restaurants. Instead it will be sold at auction on Thursday after a venture between Christian Candy’s company CPC and Icelandic bank Kaupthing defaulted on a $365.5m (£236.1m) loan.
CPC and Kaupthing bought the property from New Pacific Realty for $500m in May 2007. It is understood CPC will receive up to $250m for the land although if a buyer cannot be found the banks will take control of the site.
The project ran into problems when Kaupthing collapsed in 2008 and defaulted on the loan. It is understood Credit Suisse provided the original finance. The brothers shot to fame after acquiring the Chelsea barracks site for £900m but since then their luck has been in short supply.
The Chelsea barracks project ran aground when Prince Charles weighed in with his opinions on architect Lord Rogers’ designs for the site. After the development was abandoned Lord Rogers said the Prince had “single-handedly destroyed the project” and acted in “unconstitutional way.”
CPC is currently suing Qatari Diar for £81m following the decision by the wealth fund to withdraw from the redevelopment of the site. The pair’s development in NoHo Square is also struggling, which leaves One Hyde Park as their only major project.
Nick is dating Australian actress Holly Valance and their estimated wealth stands at £750m.
ADAIR TURNER, FSA CHAIRMAN AND CHAIR OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITTEE
THE Committee on Climate Change, headed by FSA chair Adair Turner, has put together proposals to speed up the process of making London’s commercial property buildings more energy efficient.
Under the current system, buildings are given energy performance certificates ranked from A (excellent) to G (very poor).
The Committee wants buildings in bracket G to be removed from the letting and sellers markets by 2020.
According to the property consultancy firm, NB real estate, it would mean 10 per cent of current commercial property being rendered obsolete.
The proposals are unlikely to prove popular with property firms still reeling from the fallout of the financial crisis and who would be forced to make expensive improvements to their energy efficiency.
Heritage and listed buildings will be most be affected by the proposals as planning restrictions make it more difficult for energy efficient improvements on older buildings.