Danish brewing company Carlsberg has sold its former brewery site in central Copenhagen to a group of Danish investors for DKK2.5bn (EUR335m).

The transaction of the Copenhagen brewery will add a pre-tax capital of around DKK1.7bn (EUR228.54m) during the second quarter of 2012.

Carlsberg will gain post-tax capital of around DKK1.4bn (EUR188.21m), free cash flow of about DKK1.9bn (EUR255.43m) and net interest bearing debt will be reduced by a similar amount.

Carlsberg group deputy chief executive officer and chief financial officer Jørn Jensen said this has been possible to establish the strong consortium of investors who will be responsible for transforming the area into an exciting neighbourhood in Copenhagen.

"We are also satisfied that the Carlsberg Group is already now realising significant value from this transaction which will be used to further deleverage the Group. At the same time we continue to participate as a minority shareholder in the consortium which we expect will generate significant value in the years to come," Jensen added.

The group of investors – Realdania, Carlsberg, PFA Pension, PenSam and Topdanmark – acquired 25%, 25%, 20%, 15% and 15%, respectively in the Carlsberg’s Copenhagen brewery.

The deal consists of a plant area of 250,000m², which is located on the border of the Copenhagen city center.

The former brewing site of Carlsberg is proposed to be developed into a new city district, Carlsberg City.

The consortium investors expect to generate attractive returns on their investments over the contemplated development period of approximately 15 years.

Few blocks in the 160 year old brewery site will be retained and restored as the property of the Carlsberg Group.

The total development of the site will include 567,000m² floor area, which will provide commercial, residential and cultural centres.

The proposed Carlsberg City will have additional 500,000m² of building area along with nine slim elevated towers of around 120m.

The nine towers will be signatures of the Carlsberg City over sighting Greater Copenhagen and Southern Sweden.

The city of Copenhagen has a rising demand for residential property due to increasing population, and the city expects addition of around 3,000 new residential projects in the region.

The Carlsberg City will contain an array of projects, which will include student housing and penthouse flats, catering to the needs of different groups of society.

The city design has been conceptualized by Entasis, a Danish architectural company.