The former “Harrods of the East End” in Whitechapel has been put up for sale for more than £38m.
Colliers International and Allsop have been instructed by Schroders to market the building, at 69-89 Mile End Road, E1, with an opportunity to redevelop.
The art deco building was originally built as Wickham’s department store. But planning permission granted in March proposes a Buckley Gray Yeoman-designed refurbishment and extension from 99,000 sq ft to 127,000 sq ft, to provide a co-working office hub and ground and lower ground shops and restaurants.
The property is held by way of four freehold and six long leasehold interests and provides a rental income of £747,982.50 pa. Occupiers include Tesco, Sports Direct, incubator Central Working, café Foxcroft & Ginger and Kano Computing.
Vacant possession of the first to third floors can be provided by February 2017.
The building was designed to upstage Selfridges on Oxford Street, W1, having a neo-classical colonnaded front, but with a central tower and clock to beat its rival.
It is a rare opportunity to acquire an asset of its size in Whitechapel, where stock has traditionally been smaller.
The building is near the area covered by the 15-year Whitechapel Masterplan which includes refurbishing the Grade II listed former Royal London Hospital into a £77m new town hall for Tower Hamlets Council in 2019 as well as delivering over 3,500 new homes by 2025, creating seven new public squares and a life science campus at Queen Mary University.
The area is home to financial, tech and creative occupiers. Recent demand prompted by the imminent arrival of Crossrail has pushed rents up to around £62 per sq ft.
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