Weekly news from the Central London Boroughs

A weekly round up of the latest planning and property news from the cantal London boroughs

Camden

PW reports that Workspace Group has announced that it has exercised its option to acquire the freehold of 13-17 Fitzroy Street for £98.5m from Arup. It signed an option agreement for the right to acquire the freehold of the 92,700 sq ft building in February. The building has been acquired at a capital value of £1,063/sq ft and a net initial yield of 4.6%. The transaction has been funded from existing facilities.

City of London

PW reports that Deutsche Bank is in discussions to prelet Land Securities at 21 Moorfields for its new City of London headquarters. The decision will be welcome news for the City and defies fears that financial institutions and banks will leave the capital after Brexit. The bank, Germany’s biggest, is in negotiations to let the 500,000 sq ft office building, which is currently being constructed above Moorgate tube station, ahead of a lease expiry at its current London HQ in 2023. It is set to sign a 25-year lease and move from Winchester House and consolidate several other offices in London. Land Securities will shortly complete demolition of the existing buildings and set about the piling and construction of an above station raft. Construction of the raft is due to be completed by June 2018.

EG reports that Eastdil Secured and CBRE have been instructed by Canary Wharf Group to sell the 50% stake it manages in 20 Fenchurch Street for around £600m.  The asking price for the stake in the building known as the Walkie Talkie reflects a  yield of circa 3.75%.

EG reports that One Poultry, EC2 is being repositioned as a design led – “HQ Creative Office.”  The grade two listed postmodernist building designed by Sir James Stirling sits above Bank Underground Station and the Royal Exchange is being refurbished to attract the next generation of creative businesses.

City of Westminster

PW reports that Great Portland Estates has achieved a record office rent for London’s Soho letting out 6,825 sq ft at 30 Broadwick Street to Exponent Private Equity at £110/ sq ft.  Xponent will occupy the sixth floor of the recently completed development on a 10 year term (no break) paying an annual rent of £750,750. In addition, following a pre-let to The Ivy Soho Brasserie last June, the remainder of the 8,900 sq ft of retail space at the scheme has been let for a combined rent of £437,500, all on minimum 10 year terms, to October’s Very Own, Nespresso and Bobbi Brown. The office and retail lettings, which were on average 9.9% ahead of last March’s ERV, take the building to 68% occupied with two floors still to let.

PW reports that Westminster City Council has launched a public consultation to identify the best way to manage the future growth of Westminster, including its policy on tall buildings. The feedback received during the course of the consultation, which will run for eight weeks, will help inform Westminster City Council’s future plans for the city which will be set out during the statutory consultation on the City Plan later this year. Westminster’s cabinet member for planning and public realm, Daniel Astaire, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Westminster. As our city grows, this will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for all those that live, work and visit the area to shape its future. London’s population is expected to grow by almost 25% by 2041. That means we have to act now to find the best way to manage that growth and ensure that Westminster remains the centre of a leading world city. Accommodating this growth needn’t necessarily mean tall buildings; in many cases it will simply mean an extra storey here and there and building behind the facades where possible, as we have seen with great success along Regent Street.”

PW reports that Topland Group is seeking offers for its leasehold interest in Every Hotel at 31-39 Coventry Street in the West End. It is believed that offers are being sought in the region of £30m. The prime hotel asset is located in close proximity to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus and was comprehensively refurbished in 2014. The 4-star hotel, part of the GLH Hotels group, provides 82 bedrooms and includes a parade of retail facing Coventry Street.

Hackney

PW reports that M&G Investments has agreed a £70m loan over five years for Rocket Investments’ 10 East Road, in Shoreditch, London. Rocket, the private property advisory and investment management company, completed the development of the former print work office building in November 2011, letting it to Premier Inn for 20 years. M&G’s real estate finance team has invested almost £6.5bn in commercial mortgages in the UK and Europe and is one of the largest new lenders to emerge since the 2008 financial crisis.

Southwark

EG reports that Avivia Investors and Galliard Homes have announced a tie-up that could see a residential scheme valued at hundreds of millions of pounds on the site of Cantium Retail Park. Aviva has picked Galliard as a joint venture partner to help it bring forward planning on the Old Kent Road, which is occupied by B&Q, Halfords and Pets at Home. Avivia bought the site for £30.1m in 2010.

Tower Hamlets

PW reports that US banking giant Citigroup has drafted in Knight Frank to work alongside Cushman & Wakefield to sublet 170,000 sq ft of its office space in Canary Wharf. The space at 25 Canada Square is due to become available when existing subtenants’ leases expire over the next two years. The 170,000 sq ft represents just over half of the 336,000 sq ft Citigroup occupies in the 1.2m sq ft tower. The space will be sublet in varying unit sizes with whole floors providing around 33,000 sq ft each.

PW reports that Saïd Holdings has completed a £137.5m refinancing of the debt on its Canary Wharf office building, 5 Churchill Place. The refinancing, structured as a four-year term loan, was provided by Citi and Bank of Ireland London. The 320,000 sq ft building was acquired by Saïd in January 2010, and ten floors are let to JP Morgan Markets until August 2029.

Wandsworth

PW reports that Orchard Street Investment Management has acquired a Virgin Active gym in Wandsworth from TH Real Estate for £12.95m. The transaction, made on behalf of St James’s Place Property Unit Trust, reflects a net initial yield of 5%. The property is single let to Virgin Active with about 20 years unexpired and benefits from an RPI-linked rent review in 2021. Located in a three-storey building totalling 40,192 sq ft, the Virgin Active gym comprises two floors of gym and fitness class facilities and a 25m heated swimming pool, as well as a steam room and sauna. A number of new housing developments have been built in the surrounding area including Battersea Reach, Riverside Quarter and The Schoolyard, with sales values exceeding £1,000/sq ft.