Eyebrow-raiser of the week is without question Roger Madelin. Mr Argent, Mr King’s Cross is now Mr British Land. In time, no doubt, he’ll add Mr Canada Water to his string of epithets.
This week BL appointed Madelin to lead the development of its 46-acre Canada Water site, SE16. It is one of the largest single landholdings to offer a regeneration opportunity in London. No wonder it appealed.
Madelin’s appeal to BL is similarly clear cut. After all, he led the Argent team that delivered the 67-acre King’s Cross development, the most admired regeneration scheme in a generation. He will also sit on British Land’s executive committee, perhaps bringing his experience to bear elsewhere.
The acquisition of Surrey Quays Leisure Park in March this year completed the assembly of the Canada Water site. It also includes Surrey Quays shopping centre and the former Daily Mail General Trust printing works at Harmsworth Quays. It all adds up to a 7m sq ft office, retail, residential and leisure opportunity, tantalisingly close to central London.
The appointment is a tremendous statement of intent by BL. Lest anyone should doubt it is serious about placemaking and coherent delivery in Canada Water, hiring Madelin will allay those fears.
True, it is not quite the slam dunk that King’s Cross offered. Transport links are good – and will be further boosted by Crossrail – but not world-class. And while it is close to the City and Canary Wharf, it cannot quite offer King’s Cross’s proximity to both the Square Mile, the West End and Europe.
But opportunities on this scale are rare. Madelin now has about 12 months to work up a planning application.
His language, unsurprisingly, is more Argent than BL: “King’s Cross was always a no-brainer. Canada Water is a very different kind of place. And it is because it is not a complete no-brainer that makes it exciting. It’s about what you can do there that will make it an amazing place.”
Madelin’s reputation will also reassure the local authority that BL will deliver a scheme that can win widespread support. Already the ex-Argent man is making soothing noises. Trumpeting the opportunity to work with “the thoughtful and ambitious London borough of Southwark” was typically shrewd.
The appointment will change Canada Water. It will influence BL’s culture too. And it may deliver a scheme that reminds the world that thoughtful developments create places, not destroy them.
- A sigh of relief from Colliers this week after the Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that had held it negligent over a valuation of premises in Germany. But champagne corks won’t pop just yet. The court refused Titan Europe leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, but the ruling sets the precedent that issuers can sue valuers. And it is that aspect of the ruling that will prevent other valuers from sleeping soundly. Lawyers are already advising that the decision will encourage CMBS issuers considering claims against agents over valuations to move forward.
- Chinese conglomerate Fosun is poised to unveil its first major development in the UK, a 400,000 sq ft office block on the City’s eastern fringe. Meanwhile, Sinar Mas, the Indonesian investor behind the £280m purchase of the Alphabeta building, EC2, is preparing to develop in the UK too. This switch by Asian investors from investment to development is evidence of the undimmed attraction of the UK, despite this summer’s China crisis. And it shows this group, which had perhaps contributed to the froth in the London market, is now focused on value, not just security. This was further highlighted in this week’s confirmation by Singapore’s Temasek of its purchase with Oxford Properties of the Blue Fin building, SE1. The deal wobbled in the summer at an expected £465m. It went through at £415m – described by one investor as not so much “a price chip, but a bag of ****ing spuds”.
