Qataris to buy Christian Candy out of Chelsea Barracks

The real estate investment company of the Qatari royal family has acquired an option to buy CPC’s equity stake in the joint venture vehicle established to develop the scheme, Project Blue.

Candy & Candy, run by Christian and Nick Candy, will still be responsible for development and planning management, branding, marketing, interior design and interior architecture at Chelsea Barracks, which is set to deliver 638 apartments at the 12.8 acre former Ministry of Defence base.

No dissatisfaction with business partners

‘The intended equity transaction relating to Project Blue and the consequent increase in our involvement in the redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks site are expressions of our deep commitment to the UK real estate market and should not be interpreted as dissatisfaction with our business relationships on the project,’ said Ghanim bin Saad al-Saad, chief executive of Qatari Diar.

‘We firmly believe that it is in CPC Group’s best interests to conclude the transactions as outlined above,’ said Christian Candy. ‘They fit in totally with CPC Group’s current UK development strategy which has evolved considerably over the last two years.’

£75m an acre

CPC Group and Qatari Diar made headlines when they bought the site from the government for £959m in February this year, equivalent to £75m an acre.