NewLondon docks revamp eyes China for funds
Silvertown developer hopes to raise money from corporate entities in mainland and Hong Kong
A £3.5 billion mixed-use development transforming a large part of Silvertown - an old industrial site in east London's Royal Docks - into a creative community is looking for corporate entities mainly from Asia to fund its first phase scheduled for construction in early 2016.
It is one of the latest large-scale developments that the London government promoted to revamp the historic and rundown dockyard that once served as a trade centre for the city.
In 2013, Advanced Business Park (ABP), a Chinese developer, signed a £1 billion (HK$12 billion) deal with the mayor of London to acquire a 4.7 million square foot site at the docks.
ABP planned to convert the site into a business district for Asian companies to set up their European headquarters.
"Silvertown [project] is very different. We are not a business park. We are actually a new piece of London," said Barry Jessup, director at First Base, which is part of the project's developer The Silvertown Partnership (TSP), which also includes Chelsfield Properties and Macquarie Capital.
Located on a 7.2 million sq ft site at the docks, the first phase of the project will create 1.8 million sq ft of modern offices and residential units, which will take four to five years to complete.
It includes the conversion of the 450,000 sq ft iconic Millennium Mills building - a former flour mill and now a set for movies - into a hub for London's start-ups, according to the developer.