Shaftesbury’s founder and former chairman, Peter Levy, has died following a short illness.
Levy, along with members of his family, founded the West End landlord in 1986 with initial capital of £10m. The firm was subsequently floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 in a placing that valued it at around £26.4m. At the time its chief asset was an island block in London’s Chinatown fronting Shaftesbury Avenue.
Today the REIT has a market capitalisation of £1.78bn and covers 15.2 acres of London’s West End, with a portfolio comprising 607 restaurants, cafés, pubs and shops, 400,000 sq ft of offices and 610 apartments.
Levy retired as chairman of Shaftesbury in September 2004.
He was also a partner in West End estate agency DE & J Levy, which was founded by his father and uncle in the 1930s.
Levy also maintained a range of charitable interests, including with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust for which he was awarded an OBE.
“Shaftesbury’s reputation, culture and values owe much to Peter’s foresight and commitment in the formative years of the business. He will be greatly missed not only by his family, but all those who were fortunate to know him and work alongside him,” Brian Bickell, chief executive of Shaftesbury, said.
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