Weekly property news from the central London Boroughs

A weekly review of the latest property news from the central London boroughs.

City of London 

PW report that Savills have been instructed by CCLA Investment Management to sell the City of London office space for around £60m. The building, which consists of 53,692 sq ft of office and retail space was recently refurbished this year. The building includes the ground floor retail unit as well as 10 office tenants currently. Yearly rent for the whole building costs more than £3m, around £56.24/sq ft. CCLA are a specialist charity and religious organisation fund manager. They purchased 80 Cannon Street in 2014 for £44.5m.

Beltane Asset management and Angelo Gordon have exchanged contracts to purchase Millennium Bridge House in an off-market transaction. The site currently occupied by tenants including financial services firm Quilter contains 204,000 square foot of office space. It is let until September 2020, with a potential major refurbishment in the pipe line.

City of Westminster

EG report that Mining corporation Rio Tinto are seeking tenants to hire half of its 116,000 square foot offices at 6 St James’ Square. The site is owned by Zara founder Amanico Ortega’s real estate business Pontegadea Group. Ortega bought the building from Rio Tinto for £262m in 2016 and leased it back to them. Pontegadea also bought the £400m Devonshire House in December 2013.

Hammersmith and Fulham

EG reports that the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis are moving their headquarters from Surrey to White City Place in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Novartis have agreed a 10-year lease at what is believed to be between £55-£65 per square foot at White City Place. They have agreed to rent 54,000 square foot, with an option rent a further 11,000 square foot.

Tower Hamlets

EG reports that Urbanest’s student-based scheme has been given financial backing by M&G who will fund the construction of UrbanestCity, 650-plus bed student accommodation for King’s College London. The £125m loan in Aldgate will also include 60,000 sq foot of office space, and incubator space for King’s College Entrepreneur Institute. The figure will mature in 2023 and will convert from a development to investment finance facility once construction is completed in 2021.

Wandsworth

EG has reported that Delancey’s Shop Stop parade next to Clapham Junction Station have been purchased by DTZ investors for £137m on behalf of Strathclyde Pension Fund. The site consists of 70,000 square feet of retail units, and offices on the first and second floors, as well as basement parking. The site is deemed an incredible redevelopment opportunity as Clapham Junction Station has more rail interchanges than anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Current tenants on the parade include M&S, Sainsbury’s, Moss Bros and Fitness First Gym.