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

City of London

PW reports that AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets has put 20 Gresham Street, a prime freehold City of London trophy office building, on the market for £315m. It has instructed Cushman & Wakefield to sell the building at a yield of 4%. The 240,000 sq ft building is predominantly let to ICBC Standard Bank and produces an annual rent of £12.8m.

PW reports that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has signed a pre-let agreement to locate its new London office at Brookfield Property Partners’ 100 Bishopsgate across floors 20 to 32 on a 20 year lease. The firm has an option to expand or contract the size of its office space at the 37-storey tower prior to occupancy. Freshfields will join Royal Bank of Canada and Jefferies at the 950,000 sq ft building. Construction began in 2015 and practical completion is scheduled for 2018. Freshfields is expected to take occupancy in summer 2021. The deal follows a 250,000 sq ft pre-let with Royal Bank of Canada and a 120,000 sq ft agreement with Jefferies, both signed in 2016. This brings the total amount of space pre-let at 100 Bishopsgate to 625,000 sq ft, or 71%.

PM reports that Legal & General has started a comprehensive refurbishment of Senator, 85 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4. Senator is owned by Vantage, a joint venture London office partnership between Legal & General Capital and PGGM. Works are now underway by Graham Construction to deliver 111,000 sq ft of premium refurbished workspace in a prime location which will be available for occupiers from December 2017. Designed by Ben Adams architects, the repositioning of this asset capitalises on its unique position between St Paul’s and the river and will include a new seventh floor roof terrace with stunning views, a café, new landscaping, public realm, and re­clad exterior.

Hammersmith and Fulham

PW reports that Stanhope have entered a joint venture with Hammersmith & Fulham Council to deliver an initial 320 homes on council-owned land over 15 years. The JV, called HFS Developments, will build 190 homes for market sale at Watermeadow Court on Townmead Road in Sands End, Fulham. It will use a contribution from this site to build 133 affordable homes at Edith Summerskill House on the Clem Attlee estate, the vast majority of which will be available for social rent. HFS Developments will appoint a housing association to develop, own and manage Edith Summerskill House once all pre-development matters are resolved.  When combined, the two schemes will deliver 40% affordable housing. The JV will submit planning applications for the schemes this month and construction will begin next year. The joint venture will reinvest any profit back in to local affordable housing.

Kensington and Chelsea

Property Magazine reports that Addington Capital sells Kensington and Chelsea asset as part of portfolio break-up. The freehold property, comprises a prominent retail parade with residential ground rents above. The property is multi-letting, producing !237,250 per annum. The residential uppers, comprises of 12 flats. The property has been sold to an undisclosed private investor for !4.45m, reflecting a yield of 5%. Allsop advised the vendor.
Planners at Kensington & Chelsea council have approved the detailed design of two gateway buildings for the redevelopment of the Earls Court exhibition complex in west London. The six-storey structures, designed by KPF, will stand on the site of the façade of the former 1930s exhibition hall and form a gateway to the 7,500-home scheme, master-planned by Terry Farrrell. Focused on the development site’s Exhibition Square, one of the buildings will deliver 5,800sq m of hotel space, while the other will provide 5,000sq m of office space, cultural space and a new entrance to Earls Court Underground Station.

One of London’s smallest houses has been put up for sale in Chelsea for £600,000. The property is only 290 sq ft and needs full renovation and has been valued at £2,068 per sq ft.
Westminster

PM reports that Thor Equities has closed on the acquisition of 147-155 Wardour Street in Soho for £43m. Thor plans to refurbish the 23,356 sq ft, six-storey mixed use property, including redecorating the existing façade on Wardour Street. Retail tenants in the building are Hummingbird Bakery, L’ETO Caffe, and contemporary ary gallery Unit London. Office tenants include First Point Group, the corporate office of Hakkasan and games developer Mediatonic.

PM reports that London Business School has acquired a major new building adjacent to their Sussex Place home on The Regent’s Park, advised by Delancey. Acquired from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Crown Estate, the neighbouring 60,000 sq ft 27 Sussex Place building joins London Business School’s impressive portfolio and will see RCOG take a lease back for up to three years, following which they will relocate away from Regent’s Park. Supporting London Business School’s ambition to provide more space for research and teaching, Delancey has also worked to maximise London Business School’s existing land­holdings. At their Sussex Place site, planning permission was achieved to increase the site from 200,000 sq ft to 300,000 sq ft and an important re­gearing of an existing lease with the Crown Estate was secured.

PM reports that London & Oriental has unveiled Buckingham Green, its new 240,000 sq ft mixed­use project situated between Victoria and St James in Westminster, London SW1. The comprehensive redevelopment of 64­65 Buckingham Gate, once the headquarters of Rolls Royce plc, will be complete by Q2 2018 and aims to deliver a new premier office and residential address within an appealing community setting in contrast to the large­scale developments in this rapidly evolving part of London. JLL and Savills have been appointed as office agents; JLL is advising on the residential; Tuckerman and Savills are appointed to let the retail units. Buckingham Green will comprise a total of 55,389 sq ft Grade A office accommodation, 11,334 sq ft of high quality retail and 65 private rented sector apartments across three buildings set in 0.25 acres of public realm centered on a new pedestrianized square.

PW reports that Land Securities’ 62 Buckingham Gate office has become the first building in London’s West End to achieve the Wired Certified platinum rating for digital connectivity. 62 Buckingham Gate, London. The developer was awarded WiredScore’s highest rating thanks to a range of high-tech design features at 62 Buckingham Gate, which spans 275,000 sq ft and was built as part of the company’s £2bn regeneration of Victoria. In addition to the building’s own features, the scheme boasts a substation, which was installed by Land Securities beneath The Zig Zag Building, and provides secure power to all the company’s buildings in Victoria so they do not suffer from blackouts, brownouts or other power issues.

PW reports that Hinduja Group and Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarroollos have been granted planning permission for a !1bn plan to transform the Old War Office into a luxury hotel and apartments. The plans will redevelop the site into a 125-room hotel and up to 88 residential apartments.  They have also been granted permission to add three additional storeys to top of the 580,000 sq ft property, bringing it up to seven floors, as well as adding two additional basement levels. The plans for the hotel also include restaurants, bars, shops and a spa. A condition of the approval is that the group will have to make a £10m contribution to the city’s affordable housing fund, as well as several public realm improvements.

PW reports that The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is selling the freehold interest in its Marylebone home at 41 Devonshire Place. The townhouse comprises 8,412 sq ft set over lower ground, ground and four upper floors, and includes an internally-connected coach house at 21b Devonshire Street. Founded in 1869, RPSL is the world’s oldest philatelic society, and has Her Majesty The Queen as its patron.

PW reports that Zebulon has let 10,330 sq ft at One Strand to cyber security firm Darktrace, taking the building to 94% occupancy. The undisclosed rent sets a new high for the building near Trafalgar Square, which has recently attracted National Grid, Braemar, CQS, Pramerica and Wella. After the Darktrace letting, 15,833 sq ft remains available.

PW reports that Hong Kong investor CC Land Holdings has completed the £292m purchase of One Kingdom Street, in Paddington, London, in an off-market deal with TH Real Estate. The 264,898 sq ft office building was sold by TH Real Estate on behalf of Cityhold Office Partnership at a yield of 4.86% and a capital value of £1,100/sq ft. The Sheppard Robson-designed nine-storey block is let to tenants including Vodafone, Shire, Mysis and Statoil. The weighted average unexpired lease term is 6.5 years (to breaks) and the average office passing rent is £55/sq ft.