A weekly roundup of the latest property news from the central London boroughs

Camden

PW reports that OakNorth has partnered with Cogress to fund a £32m luxury residential development in northwest London by property developer Paul Godfrey. OakNorth has provided £19m of the total amount, RS Property Finance has provided £6m of debt, and Cogress has invested £7m of equity. The loan will be used to acquire a 60,000 sq ft site at 254 Kilburn High Road and develop a six-floor building in its place. It will include over 10,300 sq ft of commercial space on the ground floor and 60 apartments spread over floors one to five. Paul Godfrey said: “The major funding arrangement reflects the rapid growth and ongoing expansion of my property development company. I am delighted to have the support of such substantial financial firms. All three partners – OakNorth, Cogress and RS Property Finance – worked seamlessly together, ensuring the project progressed as planned.”

City of London

PW reports that Canary Wharf Group has approached agents about selling the 50% stake it manages in 20 Fenchurch Street, otherwise known as the Walkie Talkie, for around £600m. The company manages the 50% holding on behalf of other investors including Qatar Investment Authority, China Investment Corporation and Morgan Stanley’s real estate investing unit. Canary Wharf Group also has an ownership stake of 15% as part of the 50% holding. The potential sale comes after British Land and Oxford Properties exchanged contracts for the sale of the Leadenhall Building, otherwise known as the Cheesegrater, to CC Land for £1.15bn earlier this month.

City of Westminster

PW reports that The New West End Company says sales in the West End could rise by more than £2bn by 2020 and that it could see 30% more visitors, largely due to the impact of Crossrail. Currently the district produces £8.8bn in annual sales, but the trade body says that is forecasted to rise to over £11bn by 2020 partly as a result of developments surrounding the Elizabeth line. This includes a £10m placemaking project on Bond Street, which will start next month. The New West End Company – which represents more than 600 businesses across 25 streets including Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street – also said that the Elizabeth line is expected to bring an additional 60m visitors to the area every year – a 30% increase on the 200m visitors currently welcomed annually. There will be two Crossrail stations in the West End, at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street, when the line opens next year.

ES reports that there are plans for 86 new phone boxes to be installed across the West End. 18 are earmarked for Oxford Street alone, with others in Piccadilly, Strand, Buckingham Palace Road and Baker Street as well as Covent Garden and Marylebone High Street. Applications to install them were lodged with the council last month by a company called Maximus Networks, owned by the founder of an outdoor advertising business. Each would provide 1.3m x 2m of ad space. Westminster councillors fear they will be “stalking horses” used mainly for advertising, with the phones themselves largely obsolete because most people carry mobiles. The boxes will not have a wi-fi connection. However, the council has only limited powers to block them, or the advertising they carry, under “permitted development” rules and it is asking the Government for new legal powers.

EG reports that Brockton Capital is preparing to sell 33 Horseferry Road, SQ1, having recently agreed to a new 17-year index-linked lease with the Department for Transport. JLL has been instructed to sell the 180,600 sq ft freehold office for£215m – a net initial yield of 3.6%

PW reports that Communities secretary Sajid Javid has given the go-ahead for Sellar Group’s Paddington Cube plans. Last month, Javid had stalled the planning application to give him more time to decide whether the scheme should be called in.The £775m plans had been granted planning permission subject to approval by the secretary of state in December. James Sellar, chief executive of Sellar Group, which is developing the property in joint venture with Great Western Developments, welcomed the news. “Naturally we are delighted that our planned £775m regeneration of the area directly around Paddington station has cleared yet another major hurdle in the process of securing unconditional planning consent,” he said. The proposals are for a 360,000 sq ft, 14-storey office building above 1.35 acres of new public realm, as well as substantial investment in the transport infrastructure. The plans were dramatically revised after the developers met with strong opposition for the initial plans for a 72-storey residential tower, dubbed Paddington Pole. The development will sit on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office by Paddington train station.

PW reports that Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF) has signed New Look as the anchor tenant for its redevelopment of the Kings Mall Shopping Centre in Hammersmith.   The fashion retailer has signed a 20-year lease on a 10,000 sq ft unit at the centre, taking the place of two existing units that previously housed clothing retailer River Island and coffee chain Starbucks. The new store will open around Christmas. SREF has also signed a deal to bring gym chain Frame to the Kings Mall on a 15-year lease. Frame has four sites in London – in Shoreditch, Queen’s Park, Victoria and King’s Cross. It will take a 5,315 sq ft unit across two basement levels, which will include a café and a shop selling fitness wear and accessories. In addition, Italian cosmetics retailer KIKO Milano has signed up for a 2,905 sq ft unit on a 10-year lease at the mall. SREF acquired the 340,000 sq ft Kings Mall from the Matterhorn Palos Partnership for £153m in 2015 as part of a portfolio of assets in Hammersmith.

EG reports that Bruce Ritchie’s Residential Land has bought a block of flats in Vauxhall SW8, from housebuilder Bellway in a further example of bulk sales in the Nine Elms market.
Bellway sold 51 flats from its 510-home scheme on Ponton Road, known as the Residence. A price has not been disclosed for the Residence, but Residential Land said the flats had been valued at more than £1,200 per sq ft. The 51 flats have a total floorspace of 43,529 sq ft, implying a total value of £52m.

Southwark

PW reports that Land Securities has been granted planning permission to build two offices buildings in Southwark totalling 204,440 sq ft. The developer will demolish two existing office blocks, at 103 Sumner Street and 135 Park Street, to make way for the 10-storey and nine-storey buildings following the nod from planning chiefs at Southwark Council. The Piercy & Company-designed scheme would see the buildings arranged around a central public realm courtyard. Gerald Eve advised Land Securities on planning.