London’s Biggest Deals for March*
1 30 Gresham Street EC2 (7th and 8th floors)
61,190 sq ft
Tenant Investec.
2 Aldgate Tower, E1 (11th and 12th floors)
39,859 sq ft
Tenant Tag Worldwide
3 25 Lavington Street, SE1 (entire building)
31,300 sq ft
Tenant One Avenue Group
4 Milton Gate, EC1 (4th floor)
26,863 sq ft
Tenant ICE Futures.
5 10 Upper Bank Street E14 (17th floor)
26,811 sq ft
Tenant Mastercard
*At time of going to press. Source: EGi Data
Significant March deals
Translation Building, W12
Type of deal Forward funding
Seller Imperial College/Voreda
Buyer/funder Aviva Investors
Amount £150m
Chris Berkin, EG’s West End correspondent, says: This month saw Aviva trump a frenzied pack of investors with a £150m acquisition that underscores its yearning to re-enter the White City market. Aviva had to pay handsomely for the right to forward fund Imperial College London’s 248,000 sq ft Translation Building, W12, which was expected to trade for £116m – 30% below the sale price. Aviva was one of the main landowners which sold out to Imperial in 2013, to allow the Imperial West development. Its return to Imperial West says as much about White City’s progress as a creative and bio-medical centre of excellence as it does about the inability of UK institutions to compete in central London. Savills advised the vendor, JLL acted for Aviva.
Walbrook Building, EC4
Type of deal Sale
Seller Jupiter Property Partners
Buyer Cathay Life
Amount Around £580m
Jack Sidders, EG’s news editor, says: The sale of the Walbrook building, EC4, to Taiwanese insurer Cathay Life for around £580m crystalises a stellar return for Jupiter Property Partners, the Delancey and Ares jv which bought the building’s developer, Minerva, in 2011. Delancey and Ares paid £202.6m for the company at a time when the recently completed Walbrook was vacant. They found tenants for the 400,000 sq ft of office space, including insurer Arthur Gallagher and tech company World Pay. Following the sale of the Ram Brewery scheme to China Greenland and the fully let Botolph building to German open-ended fund manager Deka, the sale of the Walbrook completes a turnaround so well executed it would be easy to forget some considered the Minerva buy risky.
People, politics and Peculiarities
Cadogan’s resi catch
People news is slim at the moment, presumably as people decide to hang on and see what their bonus cheque looks like, but one person who is on the move is Louisa Woodbridge, who is joining the Cadogan Estate as head of residential lettings. Woodbridge was previously with Grosvenor.
Taxing times at Knight Frank
But while recruitment remains quiet, it is getting busy on the political front as pre-polling day tensions mount and politicking gets into full swing. Knight Frank has been accused of breaching electoral law by an MP. The firm has been distributing leaflets entitled Mansion tax explained in marginal seats, but claims it is only imparting a factual assessment on the tax’s effect on the market.
Whitehall to… Croydon?
Meanwhile, chancellor George Osborne has put in place rules which mean government departments lodged in freehold publicly owned buildings will have to pay market rents. A flight to the fringe is predicted and presumably landlords in Croydon will be hoping the fringe extends to Zone 5.
Demolition man
Labour peer Lord Adonis is urging the demolition of council estates to make way for housing-led mixed-use city villages.
City grounded, Elizabeth takes off
We know Boris Johnson’s ambitions for a new London airport in the Thames estuary have been thwarted, but he has now blocked plans to expand City airport in the Docklands. While Boris turns things down, Eric Pickles has been clearing the way for development at Waterloo by deciding not to call in London & Regional and Chelsfield’s redevelopment of Elizabeth House, SE1.
GLA tenders examined
The GLA’s tendering process is under scrutiny after accusations that the process by which a Chinese company was chosen for a £1bn development project in east London was open to corruption.
Unconventional exit
Art and fun will collide once again when the two giant spiral slides which, featured in the Tate Modern’s turbine hall a few years back, make a reappearance on the South Bank. Carston Holler’s installation will be at the Hayward Gallery, SE1, and visitors will be able to choose whether they exit using the slides. Silly question really.
Wood works
A £200m government loan helps unlock Wood Wharf homes and commercial space development in the docklands.
Premium Bond
Property prices within a 10-minute walk of Bond Street station, which will be on the Crossrail line, have risen 82% since July 2008, according to Knight Frank.
Albert goes West…
Albert Wharf, a £500m mixed-use scheme near Wandsworth Bridge, SW6, has been granted planning permission by Hammersmith and Fulham council.
…and heads south
St James has received planning consent from Lambeth council for its residential-led mixed-use scheme at 22-29 Albert Embankment, SE1.
Posh and vexed
David and Victoria Beckham’s plans for their Holland Park home have hit a snag after a neighbour complained the changes would affect the historic character of the houses in the area.
Stamped out
Stamp duty reform caused a 0.5% drop in high-end residential values in Q1 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to research by Savills.
