Landlords Shaftesbury and Capco have completed £5bn merger

Landlords Shaftesbury and Capco have confirmed that the previously announced merger has been completed today, 6 March 2023, uniting large portions of Soho and Covent Garden under one single ownership.

Real estate giants Shaftesbury and Capital & Counties Properties have announced their agreement on an all-share merger to form a combined group, called Shaftesbury Capital PLC.

Valued at approximately £5 billion, the combined group's portfolio is made up of around 670 predominantly freehold buildings, with roughly 2.9 million square feet of lettable space across 2,000 commercial and residential units.

The merger, which was announced in June 2022, was "implemented by way of a scheme of arrangement of Shaftesbury". This means Shaftesbury shareholders (other than the holders of the existing Capco stake in the business) own 53% of the combined group and Capco shareholders own 47%.

The merged group is now led by Shaftesbury’s Jonathan Nicholls, who has stepped into the role of Executive Chairman, and Capco’s Ian Hawksworth, as Chief Executive Officer.

Ian Hawksworth, Chief Executive, commented: "Today we are delighted to complete the merger, bringing together two highly complementary portfolios to create the leading central London mixed-use REIT, Shaftesbury Capital PLC.

"We look ahead with confidence, with an experienced and talented team, to deliver long-term economic and social value for stakeholders and contribute to the success of the West End."
Key areas of focus include:

• Integration of the talented teams, embracing an inclusive, innovative and entrepreneurial culture for employees to thrive, providing greater career development opportunities over time.
• Placing customers at the heart of the business, targeting best-in-class service, providing differentiated destinations, curating an offering of complementary brands while enhancing the public realm to foster vibrant and thriving places.
• Delivering merger benefits to create a stronger operational platform of scale and efficiency, including £12 million of pre-tax recurring cost synergies on an annual run-rate basis from the end of the second year.
• Harnessing the skillsets of both companies, to deliver positive environmental and social outcomes through long-term responsible stewardship, sustainable re-use, refurbishment and repurposing of heritage and period properties.

Shares in Shaftesbury Capital PLC are up by 1.3% to 126.1p.