Southwark council will formally invite bids from commercial developers next week for one of the UKs largest regeneration programmes, the £1.5billion scheme to rebuild Elephant & Castle.

The bidding battle for the scheme is expected to attract interest from property developers around the world.

Jon Abbott, Southwark councils assistant Elephant & Castle development director, said: "Although we have not yet officially launched the commercial procurement, we are excited by the high level of interest being shown by leading names in the development sector, and we look forward to viewing the detailed proposals."

The redevelopment scheme includes building a new shopping centre with around 1m sq ft of shops, restaurants, bars and leisure facilities, as well as the construction of 5,300 homes in the area.