Property news from the central London boroughs 

Camden

EG reports that AXA Investment Managers – Real Estates has secured a deal to buy Arab Press House, a refurbishment opportunity in Holborn for £29m.

EG reports that Augustus Land has bought JML House, which sits on a 0.5 acre site on Regis Road, Kentish Town, for £8.8m from TV retail promotion company JML The 24,000 sq ft office building will be refurbished and a planning application for a broader scheme submitted.  

City of London

CoStar News reported that Frogmore has appointed Gerard Nolan & Partners to bring to market one of the final assets in its Frogmore Real Estate Partners (FREP1) fund, the luxury 80 bed hotel at 3-4 South Place in the City, for £80m. The sale price for the hotel, which is operated by D&D, reflects a yield of circa 4%.

City of Westminster

EG reports that & Other Stories is close to securing its second UK store at 431-433 Oxford Street. It will take 7,000 sq ft across three levels on a 20-year lease in the block owned by Tribeca Holdings. JLL and Cushman & Wakefield are the letting agents.

PW reports that Australian stationery brand Kikki K has agreed a deal for its first European store. The brand has exchanged on a deal to occupy 5-6 James Street for a record area of £1,400 zone-A. The unit was previously occupied by Monsoon.

PW reports that Blackstone has sold 9 Clifford Street – 13,231 sq ft of office space – to a private European investor advised by Crosland Otter Hunt for £38m. This represents a 1.86% yield. It is majority let to law firm Brown Rudnick until February 2022 with a total passing rent of £755,531 a year. Savills and Cushman & Wakefield advised Blackstone.

Islington

CoStar News reports that GPE has agreed a deal to forward sell the former HQ of the Post Office on Old Street for £130m. Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors has agreed terms to buy 148 Old Street from the Great Ropemaker Partnership, the 50:50 jv between GPE and the BT Pension Fund, for a capital value of around £820 per sq ft. GPE secured planning permission in April to refurbish the six-storey office building. The plans will see the existing 97,800 sq ft building converted into 151,700 sq ft of high quality office space. GPE is targeting completion of the scheme by early 2017.

Kensington and Chelsea

EG reports that Delancey has appointed Savills and Knight Frank to find a partner for the redevelopment of the Odeon cinema at 257-265 Kensington High Street. Planning was secured earlier this month for a 62-home scheme that includes a cinema, ground-floor shops and 7,500 sq ft of office space. The development includes 34 private flats, eight private town houses and 20 on-site affordable homes for the elderly.

EG reports that GLH has put Thistle Kensington Gardens Hotel up for sale, seeking bids in excess of £100m.

EG reports that TriSpan Investments, founded by former Quilvest and Credit Suisse executives, will occupy the 3,500 sq ft second floor of Cadogan’s 39 Sloane Street

Lambeth

Almacantar has appointed CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield to lease Two Southbank Place. The 16-storey KPF-designed building will be ready for occupation in Q4 2018.

Southwark

EG reports that Delancey is looking for a partner on a £500m mixed-use development behind the Globe Theatre. JLL and Savills have been appointed to market a stake in 185 Park Street.

Wandsworth

Boris Johnson overturned the decision by Wandsworth Council to refuse a development at 56-70 Putney High Street. The Council refused the application as “the tall building by reason of its height, bulk and design would be an incongruous addition to the streetscape and of insufficient quality to justify the proposed height.”

Tower Hamlets

PW reports that Aecom has agreed to lease around 1000,000 sq ft at Aldgate Tower – meaning the 317,000 sq ft building is now fully let. BNP Paribas Real Estate, Savills and GM Real Estate are leasing agents on Aldgate Tower.