British Land is set to benefit from the impending £1bn overhaul of the Houses of Parliament with a major letting to the Parliamentary Estates.
The body, which manages the offices of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, has gone under offer for the whole of BL’s 88,500 sq ft office development at 39 Victoria Street, SW1.
It has agreed to pay a rent of close to the £69.50 quoting price. The 15-year deal would mean the REIT has fully let the property, which was formerly home to Bank of America, just two months after launching the refurbishment. It bought the building in 2009 for £40.2m, when rents were £47 per sq ft.
The space is needed for MPs to consolidate into over the coming years, as the existing parliamentary estate undergoes a large and extensive refurbishment programme.
In excess of 500,000 sq ft is let or owned by Parliamentary Estates in London. The historic Houses of Parliament it uses will need to be vacated if a major revamp being mooted is undertaken.
A decision over whether to carry out a full refurbishment of the houses is currently on hold ahead of the general election next year. If it goes ahead a further 200,000 sq ft requirement is expected to be relaunched.
BNP Paribas Real Estate is advising Parliamentary Estates; CBRE and Knight Frank are letting agents on 39 Victoria Street.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
