Consortium of German investors acquire Olympia London in £296m deal

Olympia London has been acquired by a consortium of German institutional investors in a deal worth £296m.

The West Kensington exhibition centre, event space and conference centre, which was sold by Capital & Counties Properties PLC (Capco), sits on a 14-acre freehold site in West London and welcomes 1.6 m visitors a year.

Since buying the Olympia London in 2009, Capco invested £30m in establishing the venue as the preferred central London venue for premium shows.

The consortium, which includes BVK as the single largest shareholder, the Versicherungskammer Bayern Group and DFI European Value Add Fund, was advised on the deal by investment firm Deutsche Finance International and Yoo Capital, as UK co-investor.

Ian Hawksworth, chief executive of Capco, commented: “We are pleased to announce the sale of Olympia London to the Consortium.

“Following the successful transition of shows from the former Earls Court exhibition centres and our strategic investment in recent years, Olympia London is now established as the preferred central London venue for premium shows.

“Now that the period of transition is complete, it is the right time for Capco to exit its ownership of the venue. It has been our privilege to be part of the rich history of this historic venue, and we wish the business and management team great success under its new ownership.

“The completion of this transaction delivers value for our shareholders and will position Capco to concentrate effort and resources on our two exceptional central London estates at Covent Garden and Earls Court, as well as further enhance our financial flexibility to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.”