Khan: Capco incapable of finishing Earls Court

London mayor Sadiq Khan has slammed the developer responsible for the 77-acre redevelopment of Earls Court and called for intervention at the long-stalled scheme. Khan said he has no confidence in developer Capital & Counties which he said “has proved incapable of bringing anything forward”. He said the council should consider intervening with a compulsory purchase order and also called on Capco to sell the site. In a statement, Khan said: “I have no confidence in the ability of Capco to manage a development of this scale and all options for breaking the current impasse must be considered, including the council exercising its ability to acquire the site using a compulsory purchase order. “This could be avoided if Capco simply sells its interests to a party capable of developing the site. “I am not convinced by Capco’s stated intention to separate its troubled Earls Court scheme from its Covent Garden business as that will further damage its potential for redevelopment.” Capco’s £3.3bn investments are split between the two parts of the business, with 80% of the value weighted to the Covent Garden business. It is expected to announce its position on a potential demerger in a trading update on 25 July. Khan’s comments were made following a meeting between the mayor and the leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council Stephen Cowan. Capco’s share of the site is mostly held in a vehicle with TfL. It has lost more than half its value in just over four years, most recently priced at £412m by JLL. Various developers have entered into discussions to acquire the site, which has a £12bn masterplan for 7,500 homes. Most recently, Canary Wharf Group  emerged as the latest potential buyer, following on from interest from CK Asset Holdings. In April, Hammersmith & Fulham’s head of regeneration Matt Rumble called on the council to “urgently” approve a CPO strategy in order to commence development. However, the council has not initiated any CPO discussions with Capco. Stephen Cowan, leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, said: “We’re deeply frustrated by the lack of progress, with no new homes delivered on the masterplan site. This, and the dire need for affordable housing in the borough, has resulted in the council considering a CPO for the Earls Court Exhibition Centre and the Lillie Bridge Depot site. “Our consultants, Avison Young, are making good progress with the CPO strategy and we expect this strategy to come to full cabinet by the end of the year. We’re pleased to hear the Mayor is supportive of our consideration of a CPO of these sites.” Last week, housing minister Kit Malthouse rejected an application from Earls Court residents to take control of their housing stock on the site. Malthouse said a transfer of the housing stock would be at a cost to the regeneration and he applauded the”concrete progress” being made at the site. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette