Lotus Group’s Farringdon head office hits the market 

RE Capital is gearing up to sell a Farringdon office asset which is the UK headquarters for car manufacturer Lotus Group International.  The freehold to the newly renovated office building at 18 Vine Hill, EC1, is being marketed by Savills at £25.5m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.12%.  The historic Ragged School building provides 18,717 sq ft of grade-A office space across four floors and is let entirely to Lotus Group International on a 10-year lease, with a break option at year five. It generates gross passing rent of around £1.3m per annum and a reversionary passing rent of £74.50 per sq ft overall.  Lotus signed the deal to occupy the office in September 2023 and was offered 10 months rent-free, plus a further eight months at half rent. If the group does not choose to exercise its break clause, it will gain an additional 10 months rent-free.  Following RE Capital’s renovation of the site in August 2023, the building achieved BREEAM Excellent, WELL Enabled, WiredScore Certified and EPC B ratings.   The Ragged School building is part of RE Capital’s wider mixed-use development at the site, which offers 73,953 sq ft of hotel, office and residential space.  Other buildings on the site include a purpose-built 37,889 sq ft hotel with 153 bedrooms, which is let on a 30-year lease to Ruby Hotels, alongside 7,513 sq ft of residential space comprising nine affordable flats that have been sold to a third-party operator. Both elements are set to complete in March 2024.