City of London

City AM reports that London’s ‘Can of Ham’ skyscraper has been put back on sale for a reduced price two years after the first attempt to sell the distinctive building. The property has hit the market with an asking price of £322m, having previously been valued at around £400m when it was last on sale in 2022.

BENews reports that The Mercers’ Company has let more than 55,000 sq ft in separate deals to three clients in the City of London. Global law firm Davis Polk has signed for a new UK HQ at the 31,800 sq ft The Whittington Building (pictured); flexible office provider The Boutique Workplace Company has signed a 15-year lease at the 18,000 sq ft Grade II listed 1-3 Frederick’s Place; and Fisher German has taken 6,000 sq ft at Becket House for the relocation and expansion of it’s London office. 

City of Westminster

Building Magazine reports that an entirely new project team will be appointed to carry out Sadiq Khan’s revived plans to pedestrianise part of London’s Oxford Street, according to City Hall. Last week the London mayor announced he wanted to bring back a £150m plan to ban traffic on a 1.1km stretch of the world-famous shopping street between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch. Khan’s previous attempt to transform the street into a pedestrianised public space were blocked by Westminster council in 2018 due to concerns over the need to reroute traffic into quieter surrounding streets. He is now proposing the creation of a Mayoral Development Corporation which will have greater planning powers.

Retail Gazette reports that a “new immersive retail media store concept”, termed Future Stores, is set to open on Oxford Street next month. The start-up said its 435sq m space at 95 Oxford Street blends the worlds of media, retail, and digital performance marketing together for the first time, “creating a hybrid retail media platform that helps brands captivate audiences, drive impactful marketing campaigns, and generate sales”.

BENews reports that Firethorn Trust has secured planning permission to convert a 70,000 sq ft former office building in Westminster into residential accommodation. Firethorn acquired One Bessborough Gardens in June 2024 with the intention of converting the four-storey site into a modern and sustainable residential development overlooking the River Thames.

Co-star reports that Hong Kong-listed investor China Motor Bus Company is selling Albany House in London’s Westminster to entrepreneur Tony Matharu’s UK-based real estate and hospitality firm Integrity International Group for £47 million.

BENews reports that finance firm Evercore has pre-let 135,000 sq ft across five floors of BGO’s 105 Victoria Street office scheme in London for its new HQ. The firm is moving from its current home in Mayfair to the 445,000 sq ft, fully electric, net zero carbon office development. BGO is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, EPC A and WELL Platinum ratings for the building, which features 25,000 sq ft of green space and terracing, including a 200m ‘walk and talk’ track for on-the-move meetings and an urban farm.