MORNING NEWS: Tall tower, high rents

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. A letting at AXA IM Alts’ 22 Bishopsgate, EC2, has set a record rent in the City of London – and should give agents and developers hope that new schemes will become viable. Brazilian bank Banco Master has agreed a lease for the top office floor of the tower at £122 per sq ft. With that new benchmark and continued rental growth expected, the team at Savills said it is “inevitable that development for best-in-class buildings becomes more viable and we see more construction begin to take place”. Office owners in Cardiff have their own reasons for cheer, with take-up at its highest level since well before the Covid-19 pandemic and rents rising for the first time since 2016. Leasing in the third quarter topped 146,000 sq ft, according to Knight Frank, the highest quarterly total since the last three months of 2020. That took the year-to-date total to 334,500 sq ft, which is 56% ahead year-on-year and the best first nine months of a year since 2017. Prime office rents have risen to £28 per sq ft, the first increase since 2016. So far, so good, But there are some signs of a slowdown from the team at CLS, which told investors this morning that its office leasing deals are taking longer to get across the line. The company has sealed 81 lettings over the first nine months of the year, generating more than £10m in annual rent at 5.5% above estimated rental value. But chief executive Fredrik Widlund said the timing of transactions was stretching out. “The letting trend remains positive although we are experiencing longer decision timelines due to macro and political factors slowing progress,” he said. “However, with two-thirds of our vacant spaces EPC-rated A or B, we believe we are well placed for the period ahead.” There’s also news on a pair of offices set for approval this week in Camden; an upbeat outlook for Europe’s residential sectors; and a warning over how poorly UK real estate stock performs in terms of its carbon emission rate. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals: City of London’s highest tower hits highest rentLeasings take longer for CLSRegional REIT on ‘stronger footing’ as refurbs get under wayRLAM buys Coventry development site from Henry BootPair of Camden offices set for approvalFortress picks up cinema chain CurzonWhat’s driving deals in KentCouncils handed powers to auction empty shops from DecemberSocial value: reporting’s next frontierSolihull Council and Muse sign town centre redevelopment dealCardiff office market ‘polarising at pace’, says Knight FrankEuropean living sectors set for major investment over next five yearsAEW buys former Gleeds HQ as value-add opportunityOne Canada Square change of use set for approvalUK CRE stock among Europe’s worst for carbon emissionsEddisons appointed to sell £7.5m retail and hospitality portfolioBirmingham Council puts four more assets under the hammerURW reveals regen plans for Croydon town centrePicton back in the black as it rebalances its portfolioMatalan snaps up property director from GymsharkKeepmoat to redevelop Grimsby school site7-Eleven owner considering $58bn management buyout (£)Prime retail vacancies in London fall to lowest since pandemic (£)Neom mega-project boss abruptly replaced in Saudi Arabia (£)