Weekly property news from the central London boroughs

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

City of London

PW reports that FirethornTrust, an investment company, has struck its first deal since launching last month, acquiring Quay House in Canary Wharf for a £200m redevelopment. The firm, led by former Tristan Capital directors Peter Mather and Chris Webb and backed by the Stephens and Van Tuyl family offices, has bought Quay House from private investor Investin for £26m in an off-market transaction. The 0.47-acre site is home to a 20,000 sq ft office building with short-term income from a serviced office provider.

PW reports that Resolution Property has bought the Royal Exchange offices in the City of London from Marcol for an undisclosed sum. The building was put up for sale for £47.5m in March.

City of Westminster

PW reports that Great Portland Estates has sold 55 Wells Street to an overseas investor for £65.46m, reflecting a net initial yield of 3.99% and a capital value of £1,674/sq ft. The offices are let to Williams Lea and Synova Capital, while Yotam Ottolenghi’s restaurant ROVI occupies the ground floor.

EG reports that Sir Richard Sutton has put the 129-year long lease on Film House on Wardour Street, W1, up for sale for around £97m. The company has instructed Knight Frank to find a buyer at a ground rent of £1 pa. There are currently two headleases on the property, both owned by Threadneedle Pensions, which expire in 2020. Threadneedle pays £3,470 pa in ground rent.

EG reports that Damien Hirst has bought a £40m building in Soho to house a new studio and art complex. The 27,742 sq ft grade-A property on Beak Street, W1, was sold by Enstar Capital and LandCap, which developed it in a joint venture. The building was bought through Hirst’s company Science (UK) and is currently undergoing a fit-out to open in Q1 2019.

Islington

PW reports that HB Reavis is opening its first coworking brand HubHub at 20 Farringdon Street, the 85,000 sq ft office scheme that it launched in June. HubHub will occupy 34,000 sq ft on the top four floors of the building, which is 85% let. NG Bailey and The Berkeley Partnership have taken space and 20,500 sq ft is under offer.

Kensington & Chelsea

EG reports that Vincent Tchenguiz’s Hilton London Kensington hotel, W11, which has been at the centre of a legal dispute, has been sold to Bakir Cola’s Cola Holdings for around £260m. The 603-bedroom hotel was initially the trophy asset in a portfolio of 10 UK hotels, which Tchenguiz had been seeking to sell for circa £600m. The transaction has split the asset from the other nine hotels, which are located across England.

Southwark

EG reports that Gaterule has put 25 Lavington Street, SE1, up for sale for around £80m. The investment business run by the Oestricher family has instructed CBRE to find a buyer for the 1.6-acre freehold site near to the Tate Modern. It comes with a resolution to grant planning consent for an Allies and Morrison-designed scheme (below) with a GDV of £340m. There is also the option of partnering with the vendor to build out the scheme, which includes 173 flats in two buildings of 13 and 21 storeys and a 122,205 sq ft, 10-storey office block.

EG reports that Pearson has put the Financial Times’ building at 1 Southwark Bridge, SE1, up for sale. Knight Frank and JLL have been appointed to look for a buyer for the 154,505 sq ft 1980s-built office, which will present a number of redevelopment opportunities when the FT vacates next year.

EG reports that IBM is looking to relocate from its 217,000 sq ft home on the South Bank, where it has been based for nearly 50 years. The tech giant is understood to have appointed its retained UK adviser, BNP Paribas Real Estate, to find between 150,000 sq ft and 200,000 sq ft in central London. Fit-out of the new space will need to begin by Q1 2021, to allow the company to move in by the start of 2022.