Three big bets by three very different developers this week remind us that it is not just merger-hungry agents that are seeking to reposition themselves in a crowded market.
First, Hammerson. What a week for the retail specialist. It has endured tough questions since it elected to sell off its office portfolio three years ago, but after two transformative deals it would be entitled to feel that that time has passed.
Last week it placed Birmingham’s Grand Central shopping centre under offer for around £310m – a 3.5% yield. Acquisition of the shiny new home of John Lewis would give it ownership of the two premier retail outlets in a city that is undergoing a retail-led renaissance.
Even more significant perhaps was this week’s swoop, in a joint venture with Allianz, for Nama’s €2.4bn Project Jewel loan portfolio.
Chief executive David Atkins was quick to stress it was the assets – particularly Dublin’s 1.5m sq ft shopping centre, Dundrum – not the loan book that appealed. And no wonder: the deal offers Hammerson the opportunity to become Ireland’s leading retail property owner.
Tom Bloxham’s Urban Splash was an innovative developer hobbled by the downturn. It completed a restructuring last year and this week was selected as development partner for a significant project, also in that city of the moment, Birmingham.
It’s a big deal for Urban Splash and for Birmingham. The developer and its partner Places for People will bring forward the £250m Icknield Port Loop project with landowners the city council and the Canal & River Trust. The council sees the project as a catalyst for wider regeneration and housing delivery.
Bloxham, like Atkins, will enjoy his weekend.
Meanwhile, Development Securities is rebranding, though it hates that phrase. It will confirm at its results announcement later this month that it is naming itself U+I. The business had always expected to reconsider its moniker after it acquired Cathedral last year; its move to a new, combined office in November was the trigger.
Any name change is controversial – just ask intu – and brave. Will it work? Well, it has been led by Cathedral, which has a deserved reputation for effective creativity. The company is betting on innovation trumping historical brand value.
There is another nice twist to this tale. How many company names these days are based on an old trade union slogan?
U+I comes from the motto of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers Union (no, nor me; it folded almost a century ago) which used to meet near a DevSec/Cathedral site in Greenwich, south-east London. Its motto? “United and industrious’.
The new name makes more sense when you see it spelt out, doesn’t it?
Away from the confrontation at this year’s Labour Party conference there was collaboration too. At a dinner staged by Mishcon de Reya and supported by Estates Gazette, a group of developers and leaders of Labour local authorities in London – the more progressive wings of each group, that is – aired fears that working together had become that bit harder with a Corbyn-led national party. To paraphrase Southwark leader Peter John, with opposition to redevelopment of the borough’s Aylesbury Estate being led by Jeremy’s brother Piers, delivering large regeneration schemes has just got that bit harder.
Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to this year’s Estates Gazette salary survey. For those who haven’t yet, this year’s is not all about the money. We want to find out what you expect from your office environment, how accepted you feel in the workplace and much more. Go to www.propertyjobs.co.uk/article/your-chance-to-have-your-say to help us pull together an important industry snapshot.
damian.wild@estatesgazette.com
