LAXEY PARTNERS, the activist investor that once tried to break up British Land, is believed to have snapped up an 11.8% stake in a listed property company that owns vast swathes of Chinatown and Carnaby Street in London’s West End.

It is understood that Laxey has agreed to pay a premium price to assume control of a holding in the £775m Shaftesbury group.

The stake it bought was built up through complex derivatives, known as contracts for difference, by Mike Ashley, the billion-aire sportswear tycoon, and Paul Kemsley, the property magnate.

Shaftesbury executives have been made aware of Laxey’s position in the company.

Laxey has bought the position for its new Terra Catalyst fund, which recently floated on the Alternative Investment Market, raising £116m.

It has not made its intentions toward Shaftesbury clear, but City sources said the group believes Shaftesbury shares, which have slumped 30% since last May, are undervalued.

Laxey co-founder Colin Kingsnorth told The Sunday Times earlier this year that the Terra Catalyst fund would take advantage of the steep fall in the share prices of commercial-property companies. It is expected to take stakes in and launch full takeover bids for groups it believes are undervalued.

“Unlike many people, we don’t believe the end of the world is nigh for commercial property and there is a great chance to pick up shares. No-one seems to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we do,” Kingsnorth said at the time of the fund launch.

It is unclear whether Kemsley and Ashley still have any financial interest in Shaftesbury.

Laxey, Shaftesbury, and Kemsley declined to comment.

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