Significant October deals
Sanctuary Building, SW1
Type of deal Investment
Seller Tishman Speyer
Buyer Blackstone
Price £175m
Yield Not applicable. Current letting short term
Joanna Bourke, West End Correspondent, says: Blackstone’s £175m purchase of the Sanctuary Buildings from Tishman Speyer, SW1, ends two years of speculation. The private equity investor will pursue a refurbishment of the government-let block, betting on rising rents in Victoria as the area continues to undergo its Land Securities-driven transformation. For Tishman Speyer, it frees up capital to reinvest into prime office buildings close to Crossrail stations to add to its twin trophy purchases of 33 Holborn, EC1, and The Point from earlier this year.
Gherkin, SW3
Type of deal Investment
Sellers Receivers
Buyer Safra family
Price £710m plus receivership sale
Jack Sidders, EG’s news editor, says: The Safra family’s knockout bid for the Gherkin, EC3, offers new insight on the City market. At £710m plus the receivership sale it outdid all but the most bullish views on the Square Mile, topping the previous price paid in 2007 by more than £100m. And the deal speaks volumes about the changing nature of global capital markets. The Brazilian banking billionaires outmuscled Asian, European and North American parties to claim the trophy prize.
Stanhope moves into City centre
Stanhope has secured the keys to the BBC’s former Television Centre, W12, six months ahead of schedule, paving way for a mixed-use redevelopment including 500,000 sq ft of offices.
Heron Quay tower on the up
Plans for a Kohn Pedersen Fox-designed, 27-storey tower at Heron Quay in the Docklands have been unveiled and, hot on the heels of the announcement, Société Générale announced it had prelet 280,000 sq ft.
C&W celebrates top spot
Celebrations for Cushman & Wakefield as the firm which ousted CBRE and JLL to take top spot in the EGi most active agent league.
New Bond Street boom?
New Bond Street retail rents could double to £1,000 per sq ft zone A in four years following a makeover of the street.
Grade-B stock plummets
Availability of grade-B office stock in the capital has plummeted to levels not seen since 2001 according to DTZ research.
Foxtons falls on results
The slowdown in London’s housing market took its toll on Foxtons’ results with the group’s adjusted pretax profits falling by 26.8% to £14.2m in the 12 months to Oct 14.
People, politics and peculiarities
Carter jonas buys niche agency
Carter Jonas has joined the acquisition trail, buying up niche West End investment agency Whittingham Prosser.
Tuckerman lures new partners
Poaching season shows no signs of abating with Union Street Partners – a new joint venture between Tuckerman and Fairbrother – luring Simon Smith and Rupert Cowling from CBRE to be partners.
Council builds in the changes
It’s all change at Westminster city council with Ben Denton stepping into the shoes of Rosemarie MacQueen to become director of growth, planning and housing.
Rees rages over Southwark towers
The news that towers are on the up in Southwark will no doubt be a red rag to former City Corporation planner Peter Rees. He used his position as professor of places and planning at University College London to slam former mayor Ken Livingston and current incumbent Boris Johnson for allowing “a forest of demented telegraph poles”. Ouch.
Boris defends foreign investment
Talking of Boris and towers, the mayor hit back at what he called “pitchfork” wavers who want to stymie foreign investment in London residential. He said the belief that foreign money is contributing to London’s housing supply crisis is “rubbish”.
New taste in Notting Hill
Ever wanted to eat like a caveman? Well head over to Notting Hill where a restaurant based on the latest fad eating trend the Paleolithic diet opened this month. True Taste, which excludes from the menu things such as sugar, dairy, grain and potatoes (no chips then) is bound to appeal to the health conscious and those perhaps trying to be.
Southwark cranes its vision
Has the London Borough of Southwark looked west up the Thames with jealous eyes and seen the cranes scattered along the South Bank through Lambeth to Wandsworth’s Battersea? Perhaps. Last month the council decided to extend its planning policy to allow high-rise development in more locations.
| London’s biggest deals for October 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Bank Street, E14 | 280,000 sq ft | Tenant: Société Générale |
| 2 | 70 Mark Lane, EC3 | 68,255 sq ft | Tenant: Zurich Insurance |
| 3 | 20 St Dunstan’s Hill, EC3 | 44,439 sq ft | Tenant: Office Space in Town |
| 4 | 188 Fleet Street, EC4 | 33,074 sq ft | Tenant: Legalease |
| 5 | 6 Bevis Marks EC3 | 20,583 sq ft | Tenant: i2 Office |
