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

City of Westminster

PW reports that Bow Street Magistrates Court in Covent Garden has been acquired by Business Trading Company. The London-based investor, the UK arm of Qatar-based investor BTC, has bought the 90,000 sq ft grade II-listed building from Austrian hoteliers, Rudolf and Christian Ploberger.  BTC UK has plans to convert the island site into a luxury boutique hotel. The gross development value is over £125m.

PW reports that Capital & Counties Properties (CapCo) has paid Derwent London £67.5m for the freehold interest of Tower House. The property, on the corner of Southampton Street and Tavistock Street with views towards the Piazza, is a multi-let building, and produces an annual rental income of £3.1m.  The 53,700 sq ft building comprises 13,800 sq ft of retail, 37,000 sq ft of offices and 2,900 sq ft of residential accommodation.

EG reports that Standard Life has sold a Mayfair office in an effort to rebalance its porfolio away from London amid concerns over the market cooling. It has sold at least £350m in London in the months since the EU referendum and has a number of assets up for sale including a 50% stake in a £460 portfolio of London offices.

PW reports that Thor Equities is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a prime London West End retail and office building from Columbia Threadneedle for £43m. It is believed that the US-headquartered investment house, is under offer to buy 147-155 Wardour Street at a sub-3% yield.  The mixed-use property, located near the corner of Broadwick Street and close to Oxford Street, comprises 27,500 sq ft across lower, ground and five upper floors.

City of London

PW reports that Heron International has secured a £90/sq ft letting at Salesforce Tower in the City of London.  Global commodities logistics and trading company Trailstone has signed to take level 35 of the skyscraper, moving from a part-occupied lower floor in the building.

PW reports that the first non-affiliated letting has been confirmed at The Scalpel development in the City of London. Insurance broker BPL Global has taken 12,089 sq ft on level 12 of the 36-storey tower.  The letting means that around 35%, or133,500 sq ft, of The Scalpel’s office space is now committed ahead of completion in December 2017.

EG reports that Kingboard Chemical Holding’s has acquisitioned We Work’s London flagship demonstrates investors appetite for the covenant of £13.1bn.

Lambeth

PW reports that Lambeth Council have approved plans for LCR, the Department for Transport and Network Rail to bring the former Eurostar terminal back into use after almost a decade in a plan which will create 135,000 sq ft of space for a mix of independent, high street and food stores spread across three floors.

Camden

PW reports that the 25,751 sq ft Pivotal o_ ce building in King’s Cross is being sold by its private trust owners for an asking price of £23.7m.