Capital Economy, Business and Finance
In a vote of confidence for the UK's retail sector, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has bought a quarter of London’s Covent Garden for £570 million.
Norges Bank also took a £360 million stake in the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor estate earlier this year. Shaftesbury Capital, which will continue as the landlord for the Covent Garden, saw its shares rise nearly 8 per cent yesterday after the deal was announced.
More broadly, the UK commercial property market seems to be at its first inflection point since Covid, with dealmaking recovering 26 per cent in 2024.
Deals included the sale of stakes in the Liverpool One and Meadowhall shopping centres and a bid to buy assets from the Langham estate.
