Dome still in Quintain sights

LONDON property group Quintain Estates is to go ahead with its bid for the Millennium Dome despite two partners pulling out of its consortium.

Chief executive Adrian Wyatt has formed a joint venture, Meridian Delta, with Australian property giant Lend Lease to negotiate with Government regeneration agency English Partnerships over the future of the controversial project.

Lend Lease has the firepower to go for the Dome and its 200-acre site. It developed the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent. Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster's property company, and Stanhope Property withdrew from Meridian and Dome bidding last month, claiming there was too much bureaucracy.

Details of the negotiations are being kept secret but Wyatt said: 'We may look like a serene Thames swan, but underneath the surface there's plenty of activity going on.'

Insiders say Meridian may plan a profit-sharing deal with English Partnerships. Quintain's pre-tax profits rose 6.4% to £8.6m in the six months to September. The interim dividend is up 10% to 2.75p.