THE majority stake in the Westgate shopping centre looks set to be sold — sparking hopes of fresh progress in the stalled regeneration of Oxford’s West End.

Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) is said to be on the verge of selling its 85 per cent stake in the shopping centre to the Crown Estate.

A source told the Oxford Mail CSC wants to sell its share of the centre for £57m, which it said the company sees as “good value”, bearing in mind the risks associated with the proposed £330m redevelopment of the centre.

Last night, a CSC spokesman refused to comment on the talks beyond saying: “We continue to review our holdings in Oxford.”

However, Andrew Mills, acquisitions and development manager for John Lewis, which wants to build a new flagship store in the revamped centre, said: “John Lewis welcomes the Crown Estate as the new owner of the Westgate shopping centre scheme and fully supports its desire to regenerate the city centre.

“John Lewis remains committed to bringing a full line department store to Oxford and we will work with the Crown Estate and council to bring it to fruition.”

Oxford City Council has been working with CSC for almost a decade to deliver a new £330m Westgate centre, but its leader Bob Price said: “I cannot tell you anything about a sale. We have some meetings next month with the John Lewis Partnership and the developers, which we are expecting to go ahead.

“We had some meetings before Christmas. As far as we are concerned, progress on the Westgate is slow but still positive.”

CSC is understood to have decided to sell having concluded the rejuvenation project did not fit into its development investment criteria.

The involvement of the Crown Estate will boost hopes of shoppers and businesses who have come to despair about when the aging shopping centre and city centre car park will finally be replaced.

A spokesman said: “The Crown Estate is often in talks regarding potential purchases, but we do not comment on market speculation.”

Any sale to the Crown Estate would come less than a year after Liberty International, CSC’s parent company, bought LaSalle Investment Management’s 50 per cent stake in the Westgate scheme for £40m.

Graham Jones, of the Rescue Oxford traders group, said: “This is one of those situations where we want to see things moving forward. But clearly there are many questions that we need answers to.”

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