GPE preps to spend with £1.6bn watchlist

Great Portland Estates is gearing up for an acquisitions drive with some £100m of deals under offer and a pipeline of £1.6bn of assets under active review or on its watchlist to buy. Chief executive Toby Courtauld said: “With London’s investment markets remaining favourable, our pipeline of acquisition opportunities is progressing well. In addition to exchanging to acquire the Courtyard, W1 in May, we now have three buildings under offer, totalling some £100m. “Looking ahead, the pipeline remains encouraging. We currently have £1bn of additional assets under active review, primarily off-market, encompassing both HQ repositioning and flex opportunities. In addition, we are closely monitoring a further £0.6bn in potential opportunities on our watchlist.” GPE’s confidence to splash the cash comes as the landlord announced continuing improvements in rental tone. Updating on trading for the three months ended 30 September, GPE said it had agreed 15 new leases and renewals generating an annual rent of £6.1m, with deals on average 6.4% ahead of March ERVs. In the first six months of the year, it signed 28 new lease and renewal deals, delivering £10.5m of rental income. Eleven fully managed leases were also signed, generating an additional £5.5m of rent roll at an average £197 per sq ft, some 8.9% ahead of March ERVs. The group’s rent roll is now £109.6m, up by 2% since 1 April. Courtauld said: “With economic conditions improving and interest rates now falling, London’s unique characteristics set it apart as a global office hub with healthy long-term growth prospects; strong customer demand for our market-leading HQ and flex spaces is enabling us to lease ahead of expectations in a market starved of such centrally-located, quality space and underpinning our conviction in our sizeable near-term pipeline.” He added: “Meanwhile, favourable investment markets play to our acquisition ambitions and with our balance sheet strength we expect to add to our recent purchases, enhancing our already attractive growth prospects.” GPE will announce its interim results on 14 November.