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

Camden

PW reports that Camden landlord Market Tech has put its digital business “under review” and reported that the value of its portfolio has passed the £1bn mark.  After its flotation at the end of 2014, Market Tech branched out beyond real estate buying the German mobile marketing firm Glispa and e-commerce marketing company Stucco Media.

PW reports that British footwear retailer Dr Martens has announced plans to open a new 23,000 sq ft European headquarters and a new concept store at Market Tech’s Stables Market in Camden.  The company has agreed a ten-year lease across two floors of office space in Camden Wharf, which will also house its London Showroom.

City of London

PW reports that Hines has confirmed that Cannon Place, its 418,000 sq ft office building in the City of London, is now fully let. Following the recent merger of CMS UK, which already occupies three floors, with law firms Nabarro and Olswang, the merged group have agreed to take the remaining space on the sixth and seventh floors of the building.

PW reports that LaSalle IM and Citygrove have received planning consent from the City of London for their proposed redevelopment of 60 London Wall.  LaSalle is working with EPR Architects to create a flexible workspace by adding four storeys to the building. The redevelopment will provide a total of 320,000 sq ft of prime grade A office space across the ground and 10 upper floors, together with roof terraces and 18,000 sq ft of retail space. The project has a target completion date of spring 2019.

City of Westminster

PW reports that Great Western Developments and Sellar Property’s planning application for a £775m redevelopment of Paddington Quarter has been recommended for approval. The final decision on plans for the former Royal Mail depot next to Paddington Station will be made by Westminster City Council on Tuesday 6 December. Plans include a 14-storey cube-shaped office building totalling 360,000 sq ft which will sit 12 metres above 1.35 acres of newly created public realm; five floors of retail and restaurant space totalling 80,000 sq ft; a rooftop restaurant, and a public piazza at the front of Paddington station. TfL, Network Rail and London Underground have all stated their support for the scheme, which includes a new Bakerloo line underground station and ticket hall.

PW reports that Shaftesbury, the London-focused REIT, which owns retail, restaurant and leisure assets across London’s West End has reported a 2.2% rise in net asset value (NAV) per share to 888p in its annual result this morning.  Net property income for the 12 months to 30 September was up 6.7% to £84.1m, compared to £78.8m last year, EPRA earnings increased by 8% to £39m and EPRA earnings per share increased by 7.7% to 14p.  Shaftesbury also posted revenue of £106.2m for the year, up from £98.7m the prior year.

PW reports that Capital & Counties Properties is on track to hit its estimated rental value target of £100m at Covent Garden by December 2017, it has stated in its latest update to the stock market.  In a trading update covering the period 1 July to 28 November, the FTSE 250 property developer reported year-to-date Covent Garden has set a new record for leasing activity, with 84 leases completed representing £11.2m of income.  Capco also revealed Hotel Chocolat was its latest new signing to the Market Building in Covent Garden, setting a new Zone A rental level of £650 / sq ft for the area.

PW reports that German leather accessories brand MCM (Modern Creation München) has signed for a flagship London store in Mayfair.  The brand has taken a 15-year lease on a 2,690 sq ft store at 16 Conduit Street, midway between Bond Street and Regent Street.

PW reports Wolfe Asset Management has purchased the freehold of The Peak in Victoria for £145m from the Cityhold Office Partnership, managed by TH Real Estate, in an off-market deal.  The price paid by the Middle Eastern investor for the JPUT in which the freehold interest sits represented a net initial yield of 4.27% and a capital value of £1,489 per sq ft.  Originally developed in 2009, the 100,000 sq ft building is multi-let to tenants including Bank of Scotland, PetroChina and Guggenheim Capital.

PW reports that W1 Developments has secured planning permission for a residential and retail scheme at 204a Great Portland Street, in London’s Harley Street Conservation Area.  The 50,000 sq ft development spans eight floors and will comprise 31 new apartments, with retail and restaurant space on the ground floor.

PW reports that Menswear boutique English Cut is open its first standalone store at 58 Chiltern Street in Marylebone, taking 605 sq ft on a 5 ­year lease. Chiltern Street in Marylebone, managed by the Portman Estate is already home to a range of acclaimed menswear boutiques including Grey Flannel, John Simmons and Club Monaco.

PW reports that a consortium of Saudi and UK family wealth funds has had its $1.15bn (£930m) bid for London’s landmark Grosvenor House hotel, along with majority stakes in two New York hotels, accepted.

PW reports that Great Portland Estates is in the early states of negotiation to sell the new Facebook London HQ at One Rathbone Place, W1, to Deka for around £450m which is a 4.25% yield.  If completed this would be the largest deal in the West End this year and underline the importance of the tech industry to the investment market.

EG reports that Peterson Group is set to more than double its money on its investment in the Ampersand Building which it had put up for sale for £250m.  The Hong Kong based firm appointed Cushman & Wakefield to sell 89,337 sq ft building.

EG reports that AshbyCapital has completed its £217m purchase of a 50% stake in Fitzroy Place, W1 from Kaupthing.  The price reflects a 4% yield.  The remaining 50% stake of the scheme is owned by Aviva Investors.

Hackney

PW reports that LaSalle Investment Management has agreed to sell a 62,506 sq ft office in Shoreditch to an overseas investor for over £38m.  The six-floor office building, 1 Mark Square, is located on an island site close to Old Street roundabout and Liverpool Street Station, and is currently let to Thomson Reuters.

EG reports that eight years after throwing out plans from Tesco to build a supermarket-with-flats scheme on 55 Morning Lane, E9, Hackney Council has done a about-turn and drawn up its own plans for a similar scheme that it now wants the retailer to develop.

Hammersmith & Fulham

PW reports that Brockton Capital has flipped 10 Hammersmith Grove, which it bought from Aberdeen Asset Management in the weeks following the EU referendum, for £103.5m. Hong Kong listed company Tai United has acquired the 122,744 sq ft office scheme from Brockton subsidiary Leon Property Holdings.

PW reports that Helical has sold One King Street, in Hammersmith, West London to Orchard Street Investment Management UK for £34.5m. The deal reflects a net initial yield of 4.85%.

Hammersmith & Fulham & RBKC

PW reports that upscale handmade furniture retailer Neptune is seeking at least five new stores in London to add to its UK-wide portfolio of 20 branches.  They have appointed Savills to find units of between 5,000 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft in locations such as Chelsea, Kensington and Fulham.

Islington

PW reports that  Helical has announced a 59,000 sq ft pre-let at The Bower development in Old Street to WeWork.  WeWork has agreed to take levels one to six at The Tower, which is the second phase of The Bower scheme. The pre-let was in line with estimated rental values, which have been guided at £62.50/sq ft on floors 1-3 and £67.60/sq ft on the upper floors, according to analysts at JP Morgan. 

Southwark

EG reports that Black Pearl has unveiled plans for a major mixed used development scheme at 18 Blackfriars Road, SE1.  A 52-store residential tower, providing 227 homes to be sold on the open market.  The scheme will be the tallest building approved In Southwark behind the shard.

PW reports WeWork has agreed to take 72,000 sq ft across three floors of the Vivo building at the South Bank Central development. The new location, which will be WeWork’s second on the South Bank after Sea Containers House, will house more than 1,000 new WeWork members.