MORNING NEWS: OpenAI nears deal for London HQ

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of real estate-relevant headlines from the national papers. OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is close to a deal to establish its first overseas HQ in King’s Cross, just over a year after the company said it had chosen London as the location for its first international office.  Now it is lining up a lease at flex office operator Fora’s York House at 221 Pentonville Road, N1, which EG understands could extend to multiple floors. In Manchester, Bank of New York Mellon Corporation has taken the whole of the 200,000 sq ft 4 Angel Square at MEPC’s NOMA. The lease was signed for 10 years at £40 per sq ft. The deal is understood to be the largest in the UK’s regional cities since 2020. NewRiver REIT has had its deadline to make a takeover bid for Capital & Regional extended for a fifth time. The company is the only name in the running after Praxis pulled out of the race to buy the shopping centre owner earlier this week. Property players have been paying tribute to Development Securities founder Martin Landau, who has died at 87. Those who knew him described Landau as an “industry doyen”, “a titan”, “a colossus” and “an inspiration”. His son Mark said that, like a chess grandmaster, he “always had a plan for how to move the right pieces at the right time”. There’s also news on Abrdn’s latest real estate sale, of the Parkway shopping centre in Newbury; plans to revamp Brick Lane’s historic Truman Brewery; and a hunt for an investment partner for a £25m redevelopment of a Dublin castle. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:OpenAI picks Fora’s York House for first overseas HQBCPT reports negative returnsNewRiver’s deadline for Capital & Regional bid extended againVistry kicks off £130m share buybackHarworth ‘cautiously optimistic’ on government policyRegal cleared for Camden student schemeHoliday park dealmakers bet on the staycationEDITOR’S COMMENT: Surely, we should be fighting for businesses to remain here in the UK?BNY Mellon signs largest regional office lease since 2020 at Manchester’s NOMAInvestment partner sought for £25m hotel redevelopmentFitch downgrades Canary Wharf GroupStirling Ackroyd sets up flex office advisory armLabTech lets US law firm more space at 90 High HolbornCourt reform critical to success of Renters’ Rights Bill, warn industry chiefsBridges and Dunquin team up to deliver five sheds in north-west DublinAbrdn set to sell Berkshire shopping centre to Eton pension fundCerberus backs £103m Cinch self-storage portfolio refinancingLiverpool approves search for £300m Festival Gardens site partnerSurgical college gets new hub in BirminghamLaw firm scales up in LeedsAtelier crafts £31m loan for Torsion’s Leeds PBSA schemeDandara’s 435-home Bristol BTR scheme tipped for approvalHigh Court upholds approval for BC Partners’ One Museum StreetIndustry pays tribute to property ‘titan’ Martin LandauMedina Capital submits plans for £50m office-to-resi schemePlans in to revamp Brick Lane’s historic Truman BreweryAPC Series: How to succeed as a graduate surveyorKajima Europe names new MD for partnerships armBank of England to hold bank rate this month but cut in Nov, economists say (£)Surge in sales of holiday homes before expected capital gains tax raid (£)Jeff Bezos ‘concealed identity’ for discount on billionaire bunker home (£)HS2: The inside story of why the project went off the rails (£)House prices rise for first time in two years (£)Boohoo scraps ‘game-changing’ US warehouse after only a year (£)Murdochs under pressure to sweeten Rightmove takeover offer after £5.6bn bid rejected (£)