UK real estate fund manager Delancey is near to taking over control of the EUR 524 mln Plantation Place complex in the City of London via a 'loan-to-own' strategy, according to UK media reports.

When contacted by PropertyEU, Delancey declined to comment on reports that Delancey had agreed to buy out the equity owners of the 51,000 m2 property and assume the securitised debt behind it.

Plantation Place was developed by Sir John Ritblat when he was CEO of British Land. Now, he is adviser to Delancey, which is headed by his son Jamie Ritblat.

The Financial Times said that the owner of the building is a consortium including Invista Foundation Property Trust. The consortium acquired the property for £525 mln five years ago. The loan-to-value covenant has been breached by a drop in the property valuation, the paper said.