HK developer offers £230m for stake in UK landlord

London

HONG Kong real estate developer Samuel Tak Lee offered to buy 9.3 per cent of Shaftesbury Plc, the owner of more than 580 restaurants and stores in London's West End, as more retailers seek to expand in the UK capital.

The Lee family, whose offer is valued at almost £230 million (S$488 million) will own as much as 13.2 per cent of the landlord if the tender offer is accepted in full, according to a statement on Monday. Mr Lee had owned more than 5 per cent of the company in October last year, before reducing his stake to as low as 2.75 per cent in December.