The country about to own swathes of Covent Garden
Norway has bought a £570m slice of London's Covent Garden after reaping bumper oil profits following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Norges Bank, the state-owned fund that manages the country's oil wealth, has bought a 25pc stake in the central London estate from owner Shaftesbury Capital.
The sovereign wealth fund has been ploughing cash into London property in recent months after taking in a huge windfall from surging oil and gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In January, Norway bought a £306m stake in Mayfair from Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property arm. Its national oil fund has also amassed a 68pc holding in the Pollen Estate in Mayfair, which includes most of Savile Row.
Jayesh Patel, head of UK real estate at Norges, said: 'This investment underscores our belief in the strength of London with the portfolio complementing our other high quality West End investments.
'Covent Garden is one of the world's most recognised retail, leisure and cultural destinations.'
Norges manages the country's vast North Sea oil and gas wealth. The sovereign wealth fund is the world's biggest, with its total investments worth nearly 20 trillion Norwegian kroner (£1.4 trillion).
The fund was buoyed by surging oil and gas prices following the invasion of Ukraine. Norway sold more than €108bn (£90bn) of fuel to Europe in 2022 and 2023, according to government data. Norges posted record annual profit of 2.5 trillion kroner for 2024 – though the fund said this was mostly driven by a rally in US tech stocks,
Norway has faced pressure to use this vast resource to boost aid to Ukraine, amid accusations from critics that it is profiteering from the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Norway has pushed back against those accusations. Eivind Vad Petersson, its deputy foreign minister, argued in January that higher prices were a natural outcome of market forces during the period.
Norway already owns swathes of the West End, including a 25pc stake in Regent Street, and already held almost a quarter of shares in Shafesbury itself, which also owns stretches of Carnaby Street, Soho and Chinatown alongside Covent Garden.
Norges also owns the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield. It has some 363.6bn kroner invested in property across 14 countries.
Shaftesbury will continue to manage the Covent Garden estate, which spans around 1.4m sq ft and 220 buildings. The landlord will use the cash from the Norges deal to partially repay a loan and £275m of exchangeable bonds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Zelensky warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort in Ukraine
A sharp rise in global oil prices after Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian president told journalists in Kyiv that the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. Advertisement 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Mr Zelensky said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Mr Zelensky said he planned to raise the issue in a conversation with US President Donald Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Advertisement He also expressed concern that US military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine towards Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the US in favour of supporting Israel, Mr Zelensky said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, which had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' Advertisement An air defence system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the US for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, he added. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of US ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the coalition is still on the table 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America' Mr Zelensky said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' Advertisement The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Mr Trump. Without major US sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us', Mr Zelensky said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. Advertisement In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said on Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia had returned 1,200 bodies. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place on Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul on June 2. Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and north-eastern parts of the 600-mile front line, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Saturday that its troops had captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defences destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. Russia's Defence Ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Zelenskyy warns oil price surge could help Russia's war effort
A sharp rise in global oil prices following Israeli strikes on Iran will benefit Russia and bolster its military capabilities in the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday in comments that were under embargo until Saturday afternoon. Speaking to journalists in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said the surge in oil prices threatens Ukraine's position on the battlefield, especially because Western allies have not enforced effective price caps on Russian oil exports. 'The strikes led to a sharp increase in the price of oil, which is negative for us,' Zelenskyy said. 'The Russians are getting stronger due to greater income from oil exports.' Global oil prices rose as much as 7% after Israel and Iran exchanged attacks over the past 48 hours, raising concerns that further escalation in the region could disrupt oil exports from the Middle East. Zelenskyy to address concerns with the US Zelenskyy said he planned to raise the issue in an upcoming conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'In the near future, I will be in contact with the American side, I think with the president, and we will raise this issue,' he said. Zelenskyy also expressed concern that U.S. military aid could be diverted away from Ukraine toward Israel during renewed tensions in the Middle East. 'We would like aid to Ukraine not to decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' Ukraine's military needs have been sidelined by the United States in favor of supporting Israel, Zelenskyy said, citing a shipment of 20,000 interceptor missiles, designed to counter Iran-made Shahed drones, that had been intended for Ukraine but were redirected to Israel. 'And for us it was a blow,' he said. 'When you face 300 to 400 drones a day, most are shot down or go off course, but some get through. We were counting on those missiles.' An air defense system, Barak-8, promised to Ukraine by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu was sent to the U.S. for repairs but never delivered to Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian president conceded that momentum for the Coalition of the Willing, a group of 31 countries which have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, has slowed because of U.S. ambivalence over providing a backstop. 'This situation has shown that Europe has not yet decided for itself that it will be with Ukraine completely if America is not there,' he said. Coalition of the Willing offer under consideration The offer of a foreign troop 'reassurance force' pledged by the Coalition of the Willing was still on the table 'but they need a backstop, as they say, from America,' Zelenskyy said. 'This means that suddenly, if something happens, America will be with them and with Ukraine.' The Ukrainian president also said the presence of foreign contingents in Ukraine would act as a security guarantee and allow Kyiv to make territorial compromises, which is the first time he has articulated a link between the reassurance force and concessions Kyiv is willing to make in negotiations with Russia. 'It is simply that their presence gives us the opportunity to compromise, when we can say that today our state does not have the strength to take our territories within the borders of 1991,' he said. But Europe and Ukraine are still waiting on strong signals from Trump. Without crushing U.S. sanctions against Russia, 'I will tell you frankly, it will be very difficult for us,' Zelenskyy said, adding that it would then fall on Europe to step up military aid to Ukraine. Body and prisoner returns follow Istanbul talks In other developments, Russia repatriated more bodies of fallen soldiers in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, Russian officials said Saturday, cited by Russian state media. The officials said Ukraine did not return any bodies to Russia on Saturday. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed in a statement that Russia returned 1,200 bodies. The first round of the staggered exchanges took place Monday. The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was the only tangible outcome of the talks in Istanbul on June 2. Russia says push continues Continuing a renewed battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its troops captured another village in the Donetsk region, Zelenyi Kut. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the Russian claim. Russia launched 58 drones and decoys at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said its air defenses destroyed 23 drones while another 20 were jammed. Russia's defense ministry said it shot down 66 Ukrainian drones overnight. Attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential ceasefire in the war. During the June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a quick deal unlikely. ___
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war, but Moscow received no war dead, Russia says
June 14 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners-of-war (POWs) on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, and Russia handed over the bodies of 1,200 dead Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv. The exchanges are part of agreements reached by the warring sides during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Ukraine earlier on Saturday confirmed it had received the bodies of its soldiers killed in action. However, Russian state media reported, citing sources, that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv, echoing a statement Russia made on Friday, when it said it had returned the bodies of 1,200 slain Ukrainian soldiers and received none of its own. The Russian defence ministry did not say how many POWs were involved in the swap with Ukraine on Saturday, but it posted video showing its soldiers holding Russian flags and cheering before boarding a bus. The Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving medical treatment before transfer back to Russia, the defence ministry said.
