String of pearls plan is 'still a reality' despite credit crunch

Published Date: 10 October 2008 THE city council is confident American, Irish and Egyptian investors are still keen to buy blocks of Princes Street despite the global economic downturn. Wealthy foreign investment funds have expressed a "strong interest" in buying and developing shops and buildings on and around the famous street, councillors are to be told. The council is involved in the early stages of talks to seal deals with t he as yet unnamed investors. With billions of pounds at their disposal, such funds are said to be more resilient to the current economic turmoil than most other institutions. The local authority is promoting its "string of pearls" vision to developers around the world, in the hope of rejuvenating Princes Street. The concept would see the street divided into distinctive blocks – the so-called pearls... [read full story]