Criterion Capital

Criterion Capital is a privately-held British property company, which owns and manages property estate in prime areas of London, particularly in Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.[1]

Criterion Capital
TypePrivate
IndustryReal estate
FounderAsif Aziz (CEO)
HeadquartersLondon
Area served
Europe
Websitewww.criterioncapital.co.uk

History

The company was founded by current Chief Executive Asif Aziz, a Malawi-born developer.[2] The company's flagship project is the London Trocadero leisure complex on Piccadilly Circus, which was acquired in 2005. Part of the building was converted into a hotel which opened in 2020: the Zedwell Piccadilly has 728 windowless rooms and a large rooftop bar.[3][4]

In April 2020, the company served its tenants with notices that they would be met with legal action if they did not pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, despite the government moratorium on evictions.[5] The company extended rent-free periods to some tenants that were deemed to be "in need."[6] Plans were submitted in May 2020 to develop parts of the building's basement into a mosque.[7] These plans drew controversy as the Picadilly neighborhood was known for its nightlife rather than places of worship.[8]

Criterion Capital is also developing projects in Croydon with the purchase of two office buildings around 2015,[9] and has a riverside site at Enderby's Wharf, East Greenwich.[10]

The ultimate owner of the company is a trust linked to Aziz, via ACT Property Holdings Ltd, an Isle of Man company.[11]

In 2022, the company invested €80 million into residential apartments in Miraflores, Portugal. This was the company's first expansion outside of the United Kingdom.[12]

References
  1. "Criterion Capital - Stay - Live - Work". criterioncapital.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  2. Rudgard, Olivia (4 October 2017). "Billionaire property developer says he was never married to 'wife' in bid to protect fortune, court hears". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. "Zedwell Piccadilly". Expedia. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  4. Sheppard, Owen (5 March 2018). "Rooftop bar to be built on the Trocadero in expanded hotel plan". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. Meddings, Sabah. "Has coronavirus made Asif Aziz the meanest landlord in Britain?". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  6. "Landlords hit back at accusations of aggressive tactics". Financial Times. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  7. "Mosque plans submitted for London's Trocadero". BBC News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  8. "Plan to open mosque in Trocadero in London sparks objections". the Guardian. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  9. Creighton, Sean (6 March 2015). "All yuppie apartments and no family homes – a risk for central Croydon?". Croydon Citizen. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  10. "Greenwich cruise terminal plan scrapped for housing". The Construction Index. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  11. "Criterion Capital Limited: Annual report 2019". Companies House. March 2019. p. 13. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  12. "Criterion Capital invests €80m in first resid..." PropertyEU News. Retrieved 30 January 2023.

https://www.criterioncapital.co.uk/

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