US Hedge Fund Sues DPK Over Royal Albert Dock Regeneration Deal

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• US Hedge Fund Sues DPK Over Royal Albert Dock Regeneration Deal

20 March 2023

US hedge fund Baupost Group has filed a claim in London’s High Court against DPK Management over a deal to acquire the Royal Albert Dock development.

The lawsuit concerns the allegation that DPK Management backed out of a deal to jointly acquire the east London site, with Baupost seeking damages for a breach of contract.

Royal Albert Dock in London’s East End was due to be transformed into a 4.7 million sq ft financial district, supported by the Mayor of London and the UK government. The site is home to the ExCeL centre and London City Airport.

It was intended to become a gateway for Asian and Chinese businesses seeking to establish their headquarters in Europe. The development was owned by ABP Investment Ltd, a unit of the Beijing-based property developer ABP Group, and was their first development project in Europe.

The first phase delivered 56,000 square ft of office and retail space, but ABP Group fell into liquidation in July 2022. This first phase was purchased by amateur racehorse jockey David Maxwell, through his company DPK Management in March 2023.

However, as reported in the Financial Times,  Baupost Group claims that they entered into a verbal agreement with DPK in September 2022 to purchase the development through a joint venture.

Both law firms representing Baupost and DPK declined to provide a comment to the Financial Times.

Picture: an image showing a proposed image of some of the regenerated buildings at the Royal Albert Dock. Four people are seen rowing along the river in the image. Image Credit: ABP

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 20 March 2023

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