EG’s must reads: 14-18 October

Here’s a wrap-up of some of the top stories on EG from the past week. The rush of proposals to turn unloved offices and other properties into hotels continues. Planning committee members at Westminster City Council signed off two hotel conversion proposals this week: one to turn the vacant office at 61-71 Victoria Street, SW1, into an eight-storey, 88-bedroom hotel; the other to redevelop the former Belgravia Police Station at 202-206 Buckingham Palace Road, also SW1, into a seven-storey, 206-bedroom hotel. And there are plenty more such deals in the pipeline.West End offices and former police station to make way for new hotelsOwner preps hotel switch for office with one offer in four yearsPlans for 80-bed hotel opposite Everton Stadium tipped for approvalDeveloper given ticket for Oxford cinema conversion “Another difficult start to the year for lenders.” That’s how Nicole Lux, senior research fellow at Bayes Business School, describes the findings of the latest half-year CRE Lending Research report from the institution. The report tracked deals from 69 banks, insurance lenders and debt funds. It found that loan volumes were down by 9.8% year-on-year in the 12 months to 30 June, at £16.7bn.Real estate lending falls in ‘another difficult’ first halfCushman wraps up refinancing Hines is gearing up to enter the UK single-family housing sector, targeting a portfolio of up to £500m as investor interest in the space grows. Ross Blair, the firm’s UK head, told EG that Hines aims to build a national portfolio through its value-add fund, Hines European Real Estate Partners 3, exiting with a sale to longer-term institutional capital in five years. The team wants a portfolio with a GDV of between £200m and £500m, with a minimum of 80 homes per location.Hines homes in on single-family sectorKettel hunts £150m for rent-to-own strategy Real estate leaders have spotted a glaring omission in government’s industrial strategy: namely, real estate. The 66-page paper launched this week outlines eight sectors the government wants to prime for long-term growth through a 10-year strategy: advanced manufacturing, clean energy, creative industries, defence, digital and technology, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services. “I was surprised that housebuilding is not named as one of the eight priority industries, after all the sound and fury over the summer – in fact, property seems to have been bypassed altogether,” said Jackie Sadek, chair of the UK Innovation Corridor.Property leaders spot glaring omission in government’s industrial strategy Breakthrough Properties has chosen Carter Jonas and Cushman & Wakefield to oversee the leasing strategy at Vitrum in Cambridge. The move comes after the investment firm, created by Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, started construction of the building last week, supported by a £104m loan from BentallGreenOak earlier this year.Breakthrough onboards agents for Vitrum Other stories you mustn’t miss:Strettons’ non-familial MD on the firm’s sense of belonging and purposeCBRE restructures valuations businessGrosvenor greens up ‘tired’ Belgravia office blockEPC upgrade costs force TUC to sell historic HQGet Living tweaks plans to address Elephant and the roomsBuyer sought for Leeds retail parkMarket moving in our direction, says new Helical bossInstant teams up with WELL to drive healthy flex spacesCampaigners lose court battle over scrapped Stonehenge traffic tunnel For your listening pleasure from EG Property PodcastsThe Future of Living: Delivering multi-generational developmentWhy London is the ideal place to foster the synergies between science and AI Image © Atelier 2 Architecture