Land Securities nears £250m sale

Land Securities, the UK's largest property company, is planning to sell its Park House development in London's West End to a Qatari-backed investor for about £250m, in a further sign of the strong interest in prime London property from the Middle East.

The company, which is expected to announce the deal as early as today, will sell the development site opposite Selfridges on Oxford Street to Barwa, a property concern backed by Qatari sovereign wealth. PCP Capital Partners, the advisory group fronted by Amanda Staveley, is also understood to be involved in the deal.

The proposed 310,000 sq ft project is in the early stages of construction and Land Securities is expected to carry out the development and deliver the finished scheme to the Qataris in exchange for a fee and possible profit share.