Berkeley on pole for Wapping development Berkeley Group, the UK's largest housebuilder by market value, has emerged as the frontrunner to take control of the former headquarters of Rupert Murdoch's News International. The company, overseen by veteran property tycoon Tony Pidgley, has been selected as preferred bidder for the 15-acre east London site at Wapping, once the home of the Sun, Times, and Sunday Times newspapers. Berkeley, which would acquire the site through St George, its luxury homes brand, is thought to have offered about £150m. The site, one of the largest development opportunities in London, has been the subject of widespread interest from property companies, sovereign wealth funds and investors since it went on sale last year. However, any redevelopment will be complicated as there are a number of large print warehouses and office buildings that would need to be demolished. News of the deal comes less than 24 hours after the Financial Times revealed Richard Desmond, owner of the Express and Daily Star newspapers and long-time rival of Mr Murdoch, was planning to turn his own old east London printworks into a housing development. The two sites, which are identical in size and only a few hundred metres apart, are on course to compete with one another for prospective housebuyers. Landowners in London have been quick to try to cash in on the strength of the property market in the city. House prices in the UK capital have proved to be one of the safest investments during the downturn, rising 15.2 per cent since 2009 - almost double the rate achieved in the rest of the country. The growth has attracted a surge in overseas interest, with buyers trying to get a foothold in both the housing and commercial property markets in London. The Wapping site was made famous in the 1980s when Mr Murdoch moved the production of his papers there, away from Fleet Street, and broke the grip of the unions over newspaper publishing. But last year News International said it was selling the site and relocating its stable of papers. Berkeley is a natural buyer for the site. Mr Pidgley and Rob Perrins, his chief executive, have cemented a reputation for being able to take on large, often complex, pieces of land and convert them into profitable housing schemes. The company, which is focused almost solely on the London property market, has a market value of £1.6bn. None of the parties involved, including CBRE, the property services group charged with marketing the Wapping site, were able to comment on the process.