Development Securities (DSC) has negotiated a £7.1m compensation payment for giving up its development rights at Paddington Central, following British Land's purchase of the 11-acre office scheme behind Paddington train station last month.
Alongside its funding partner Aviva, which ended up owning the site, the company started work on the regeneration project in 1998. The plan to turn a derelict canal-side industrial estate into a blue-chip office park was initially highly successful, attracting tenants such as Vodafone, AstraZeneca and Kingfisher. But it lost its momentum during the property crash, and DevSec told shareholders in May that it would not commit capital to big office schemes for the foreseeable future. The deal with British Land frees up £5m of working capital as well as paying £7.1m in foregone fees.
