Howard de Walden chief executive Andrew Hynard has revealed the company’s development plans for its Harley Street medical cluster.
In an interview with EG, the former JLL deputy chairman talked about the opportunities presented by medical occupiers, which are currently the estate’s biggest source of income, representing around 30% of Howard de Walden revenues.
In the past four years, the Harley Street Medical Area has attracted 45 new clinics and more high-profile names are set to move in to the area later this year. There are now more than 250 medical specialisms and more than 5,000 medical experts all located within a quarter of a mile of each other.
Curating these specialist tenants was likened to owning a shopping centre: “We’ve got the anchor stores in the form of the hospitals, and then we’re trying to make sure we’re putting in specialists to create the complete offer to attract patients,” Hynard said.
Discussing the estates strategy, he said that buildings were primarily being developed to medical occupiers’ demands following a prelet. There is a tendency towards longer-term, 25-30-year leases, which balances out the more cyclical nature of the residential, retail and offices that also exist on the estate.
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