Failed Chinese Canary Wharf District Put Up for Sale in London

(Bloomberg) -- The first phase of the stalled Royal Albert Dock project -- once billed as a new business district akin to Canary Wharf -- has been put up for sale after the Chinese developer that owned the site collapsed.

Real estate broker Savills Plc is marketing six of the buildings at the unfinished development, according to a brochure sent to clients this week and seen by Bloomberg News. Once completed, the site would offer a total of 4.7 million square feet (437,000 square meters) of mixed-use accommodation, the document said.

A handful of companies that were part of ABP, run by Chinese developer Xu Weiping, fell into administration earlier this year, according to public filings. A spokesperson for Savills confirmed the appointment and that they are seeking offers on the receivership.

The site, east of the Canary Wharf business district, will have “retail, leisure and residential accommodation, all conveniently located within 5 minutes of London City Airport and Crossrail,” London-based Savills said in the marketing document.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron were on hand to toast the signing of the deal to transform the piece of derelict London riverfront into a bustling finance hub back in 2015, with plans for two dozen buildings. Financing was provided by some of China's biggest banks.

It now stands mostly empty and has been taken over by lenders.

The Royal Albert Dock development is one of a number of Chinese-led real estate projects in the U.K.'s capital that have faced difficulties after a rush into London property about a decade ago, cheered on by Boris Johnson, the city's mayor at the time. Construction workers, angry at not being paid, have recently downed tools on Guangzhou R&F Properties Co.'s flagship development in Nine Elms.