The owner of a number of landmark shopping centres, including two in the North West, has signed an agreement with a Hong Kong giant to co-develop residential projects.
Capital & Regional, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, has partnered with Far East Consortium International.
The deal will involve the development of residential schemes on or around some of Capital & Regional's retail properties.
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The London-headquartered company's North West site is The Mall Blackburn.
Its other seven shopping centre sites are located in Luton, London, Maidstone, Redditch and Hemel Hempstead.
The news comes as Capital & Regional announced a pre-tax loss of £37.9m during the first half of its current financial year compared to the loss of £115.5m it posted during the same period in 2020.
Its revenue also fell to £34.1mi from £36.5m in the prior year.
Far East Consortium International is a Hong Kong-listed real estate developer specialising in residential, hotel and mixed-use developments in the UK, Asia and Australia.
The companies will now work together over the next 18 months to identify and speed up development of new residential projects across Capital & Regional's shopping centre portfolio.
Chris Hoong, managing director of FEC said: "FEC has a vast experience in delivering high density schemes in the United Kingdom and working closely with local councils and boroughs.
"We have identified two immediate potential opportunities and will work closely with Capital & Regional to explore how we might jointly deliver high quality residential properties within their London portfolio, which are already well served by existing retail amenities and transport links.
"Residential developments also provide an additional clientele to retail properties of C&R and enhance existing communities and therefore help drive income of occupiers.
"We are delighted to have signed this exclusivity agreement with Capital & Regional as we sincerely believe that our interests are aligned and that we can add significant value to each other."
Lawrence Hutchings, CEO of Capital & Regional, added: "Both FEC’s and our own management team recognise the importance of sustainable mixed-use urban environments that enhance the sense of place and serve their local communities.
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"The combination of our existing skills and resources will help to unlock further opportunities to create these across, and potentially beyond, our existing estate.
"We have already demonstrated that residential can play an integral role in repositioning existing retail property, especially in greater London, and are therefore pleased to formalise our relationship with FEC, having known the business well for several years.
"We believe this agreement is a further demonstration of our team’s ability to take a highly innovative approach to the management of our community centres and the potential our portfolio offers."
