Yoo Capital, the large-scale mixed-use development focused real estate investor, has announced plans for a major film quarter in Camden, London.
Yoo said the plans would "supercharge the UK’s creative industry" and have been unlocked by its acquisition of the Holmes Road Depot and the Regis Road Recycling Centre in Kentish Town, Camden on a subject-to-planning basis.
The land has been bought from Camden council which has been running a consultation on proposals for regeneration at the Recycling Centre and Car Pound on Regis Road and the Holmes Road Depot, including flats at 76 and 78 Holmes Road. A public tender document on Bidstats says the council’s aspiration is that the sites will be used by the buyer for the purposes of a comprehensive redevelopment of the Regis Road Growth area, to include film and television studios, post production and creative office space, as well as significant residential development and education and exhibition space.
Yoo says the plans will align with the Kentish Town Planning Framework for an "innovative and sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood that has industrial, commercial and creative activity alongside homes, 50% of which will be affordable, and infrastructure to support the local community".
Yoo Capital said the “Camden Film Quarter” would build on the UK's success in broadcasting and film and provide "much needed space" for the industry to grow in central London.
The acquisition is the third on behalf of Yoo Capital Fund II, the first in a series of UK real estate funds led by Yoo Capital and Astarte Capital Partners with a particular focus on London.
In November 2021, Yoo Capital bought the former Saville Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, a listed building that once hosted live performances by the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, The Who and Jimi Hendrix, and is working to return it to a live performance venue with ancillary uses.
The firm is also bringing forward the redevelopment of Olympia via an £1.3 billion investment to redevelop 137-year old exhibition halls into a cultural hub which includes a 4,400 capacity live music venue, the largest new permanent theatre in 40 years, a creative arts school,, two hotels, 20-plus restaurants and bars, 550,000 square feet of creative offices and studios, and 2.5 acres of gardens and public realm.
Yoo Capital has invested over £2.5 billion into Central London since it was founded in 2010 by international property entrepreneur John Hitchcox and real estate veteran Lloyd Lee.
Lloyd Lee, managing partner, Yoo Capital, said in a statement: “We are looking forward to working with the London Borough of Camden and the local community to bring forward the ambitions for a Camden Film Quarter. This project will be a shot in the arm for the UK’s creative industries as we look to fuel its exponential growth by attracting the best talent in TV and film to the area. We will be spending the coming months getting to know our neighbours and beginning our work with them to co-author an exemplary masterplan vision.”
Councillor Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for New Homes, Jobs and Community Investment, said: “We know there is huge creative potential in the people who live and work in Camden. We want to unlock the Kentish Town industrial area to transform this cut-off, unwelcoming site, into one that becomes a greener, welcoming space, connecting Gospel Oak with Kentish Town. A new thriving neighbourhood, which is a beacon for creativity, providing more desperately needed affordable homes for local people, good jobs and opportunities for existing communities.
“This is going to be a development shaped with local communities and Camden and Yoo Capital are looking forward to working with residents on realising the shared community vision and getting resident’s thoughts at every stage. We see this development as a way to help combat many of the issues residents are facing in Camden."