Abu Dhabi is part of a consortium planning a 10-billion pound ($16.5 billion) bid for property firm British Land, one of the UK's biggest landlords, London's Telegraph newspaper reported on Friday, quoting insiders. The consortium is also thought to include Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel magnate who ranks as Britain's richest man. The newspaper said the group had initially been interested in buying Broadgate Circle, British Land's flagship development in London City. But plans changed and the group is now bidding for the entire company. The consortium has approached bankers from Credit Suisse to prepare a bid that could be worth as much as 10 billion pounds, including debt. Abu Dhabi has recently grown its investments in British assets. Aabar, an investment vehicle of the Abu Dhabi government, bought a 32 percent stake worth $280 million in Virgin Group's space travel unit Virgin Galactic last month. In October Abu Dhabi teamed up with Qatar to pump 5.3 billion pounds into Barclays. British Land's largest shareholder is the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, with a 4.9 percent stake.
