Hong Kong billionaire backs Quintain project Quintain, the London-focused property developer, has paved the way to complete one of the UK capital's largest housing projects after teaming up with Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng Kar-Shun. The company said on Monday that Mr Cheng's Knight Dragon investment vehicle had taken on a 60 per cent stake in its £3bn Greenwich Peninsula development. Knight Dragon agreed to buy Australian developer Lend Lease out of its 50 per cent stake in the project and take over 10 per cent of Quintain's half share. Under the terms of the deal, Knight Dragon will inject £150m of cash into the Thames side scheme and provide a £300m credit facility. Quintain, which will not have to invest any new capital, will continue to manage the project, generating it about £4m a year in fees. The deal is the latest example of a foreign institution buying into the London property market. Overseas investors, particularly from Asia and the Middle East, have poured billions of pounds into buying up offices and apartments in the capital as they seek out low risk, income producing assets. News of the joint venture, which is likely to accelerate the ambitious project to deliver 10,000 homes as well as shops, hotels and schools, sent Quintain's shares up 19 per cent in morning trading to 39.25p. Max James, Quintain's chief executive, said the investment from Knight Dragon marked a turning point in his company's bid to unlock the value of the 14m sq ft scheme, which runs along 1.4 miles of the River Thames. We were presented with the opportunity take on a partner for the project and we are delighted with the outcome. This is the transformational deal the market has been looking for us to do," he added. The tie-up was well received by property analysts, many of whom have been critical about the slow progress Quintain was making on developing the Greenwich site, which it has held for 10 years. "This is a game changer for the company and, to be honest, I am a bit surprised the shares are only up 20 per cent," said Harm Meijer at JPMorgan. Mr Cheng's backing is likely to be seen as a vote of confidence in London's already booming property market. Mr Cheng, 65, only recently took over the chairmanship of the family's two listed flagships - New World Development and Chow Tai Fook - when his 86-year father Cheng Yu-tong decided to retire in February. Like most Hong Kong developers, the bulk of the Cheng's experience in property development is derived locally and from mainland China, two markets where residential and commercial property prices have soared in recent years. The family already have some property interests in the UK, however, including The Knightsbridge, an upmarket residential scheme, and regeneration specialists Pinnacle. Their estimated fortune went up by US$7bn last year, according to Forbes, after the US$2bn listing of Chow Tai Fook, the jewellery chain. Since the 1990s, British properties have become cheap compared with Hong Kong prices. At the same time, the UK is considered a safe place to park assets and it also offers the comfort of a similar legal system to the one in Hong Kong, a British colony until 1997. These are factors often cited by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's wealthiest man, behind his decision to invest heavily in British utilities in recent years.