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

Camden 

PW reports that DekaBank has provided a £152m five-year term loan to the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership secured on 1 & 2 Pancras Square. Acting as sole arranger and underwriter, Deka has added further financial backing to the joint venture between AustralianSuper and the British Telecom Pension Scheme at 1 & 2 Pancras Square, which is managed by Argent (King’s Cross). The two office buildings are being developed to provide in excess of 200,000 sq ft of commercial space within King’s Cross Central, a 67 acre site which is being developed by Argent on behalf of KCCLP to provide in excess of 3.9m sq ft of commercial space, 2,000 residential units and the University of Arts London.

City of London 

PW reports that a group of South African private investors have acquired 35 King Street in the City of London in an off-market deal for £19.4m. The fully let freehold office and retail building was asset managed by London & Oriental and totals approximately 16,300 sq ft. The investment was not generally available and was introduced to Salamanca Group, the London-based merchant bank who advised the investors, by Knight Frank. Cushman & Wakefield represented London & Oriental.

Lambeth 

PW reports that developer Downing  has secured planning permission from Lambeth Council for a 37-storey student building and six-storey commercial office development in Vauxhall. Developer Downing  has secured planning permission from Lambeth Council for a 37-storey student building and six-storey commercial office development in Vauxhall.

RBKC

PW reports that Trinity College Cambridge has put a mixed-use property on Kensington High Street on the market for £27.64m. It has appointed Bidwells to market the 21,402 sq ft building at 160-166 Kensington High Street at a yield of 4.25%. The building, which offers retail, office and residential accommodation, has the potential for strong rental growth. Metro Bank and Argos occupy the retail space at zone A rents of between £207-£213 and the office space is let at £44/sq ft. Retail rents in the area have reached £237 zone A and office rents are at around £63/sq ft

Southwark

PW reports that City & Provincial Properties has sold a 2.5-acre site at 709 Old Kent Road to the London Borough of Southwark for £15m. The Mayor of London designated the Old Kent Road as an opportunity area in the London Plan and Southwark says the site will be used for occupational depots. Richard Kalmar, chair of the Southwark Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is an important site for the transformation of Old Kent Road area, historically it was used for a smelly and dirty purpose by the South Metropolitan Gas Company when the area developed as heavy factories around the Surrey Canal. City & Provincial were advised by Kalmars.

PW reports that asian-influenced food chain itsu has signed a new 15-year lease in The Shard’s retail arcade. The Retail Arcade forms part of the Shard Quarter, which also features the recently fully-let The Shard and the residential development Shard Place. Itsu’s signing for a 2,270 sq ft unit sees it join Hawes & Curtis, Superdrug and Starbucks in the now 75% let retail space connected to London Bridge Underground station.

PW reports that professional services giant PwC UK is moving out of one of its three major London offices in a drive to base more staff in the regions and implement flexible working. The ‘big four’ accounting firm, will move all staff out of its 150,000 sq ft office at Hay’s Galleria close to London Bridge station next year. These staff will be consolidated into existing bases at nearby More London and Embankment Place, which adjoins Charing Cross station. Riverside office and retail complex Hay’s Galleria is owned by Kuwaiti state-controlled property company St Martins Property Corporation and managed by Broadgate Estates as part of its London Bridge City quarter.

Westminster 

EG reports that M&G investments is providing a £517m loan to Lodha UK for it’s flagship luxury residential scheme at No 1 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1. The loan will be invested and held by M &NG – managed funds. On completion in December 2019 No 1 Grosvenor Square will provide 48 homes.

EG reports that Marks & Spender is in talks to sublet 160,000 sq ft in Paddington, W2, to flexible office provider WeWork.  The retailer appointed Knight Frank in March to sublet European Land’s 5 Merchant Square and is close to agreeing a deal with WeWork on the whole of the building. M&S occupies three buildings in Paddington and is making cutbacks as it streamlines its business. It signed a 30-year lease on 5 Merchant Square in 2008.

PW reports that office take-up in Central London hit 3.4m sq ft in Q3 2017, a quarterly increase of 3% and nearly 10% above the 10-year average of 3.1m sq ft. The rise, highlighted by CBRE’s Q3 Central London Office report, was headlined by West End offices reaching their highest take-up level since 2005. Three of the four London letting deals over 100,000 sq ft in the quarter were in the West End. The two largest deals were Deutsche Bank taking a 549,800 sq ft pre-let at Landsec’s 21 Moorfields building and Dentsu Aegis taking a pre-let of 311,800 sq ft at 1 Triton Square in the West End.

PW reports that Tokyo-based men’s fashion magazine Clutch has signed for its first-ever London site at 78-80A Great Portland Street, Property Week can reveal. The Clutch Cafe – a retail store and café designed by the team behind the magazine – is scheduled to open in the 2,000 sq ft space in the first quarter of 2018. Nearby retailers include Estee Lauder, Topshop and Urban Outfitters – all of which have been profiled in Clutch Magazine since it launched in February 2012.

Thor Retail Advisors represented Clutch Cafe in the transaction. Nash Bond represented the landlord. Tom McHugh, director at Thor Retail Advisors, said: “We were pleased to be able to secure a long-term lease for Clutch Café in a high footfall location in Fitrzrovia, a buzzing area with historical links to the rag trade.”

PW reports that planning permission has been granted for the extension and redevelopment of 25 Berkeley Square – an office building owned by Lazari Investments.  The proposed scheme includes improved access provision to meet current building regulations, internal core re-arrangements and the remodelling and extension of the upper storeys to create an environmentally efficient modern office.The project also involves constructing a new roof extension and mansard to house new circulation, services and facilities. The plans have been developed in association with The Grosvenor Estate, the landowner of Berkeley Square onto which the scheme faces.

PW reports that Tishman Speyer has secured a duo of lettings at Verde, its flagship development in London’s Victoria, totalling 44,000 sq ft.The two leases bring the occupancy at the building to 86%. Dimension Data, a leading global technology integrator which is part of the NTT Group, will occupy part of the fourth floor, taking 10,216 sq ft. TP ICAP, the world’s largest interdealer broker, will take up the entire third floor, for a total of 34,163 sq ft. Meanwhile, gym operator H2 and independent cafe and deli bar Shot Espresso Coffee shop have also joined the roster of tenants at the schem