London Around the market

London’s biggest deals for March*  171 Queen Victoria Street, EC4 41,463 sq ft Tenant : Wedlake Bell 31-32 Alfred Place, WC1 27,500 sq ft Tenant: Undisclosed Brettenham House, 5 Lancaster Place, WC2 14,862 sq ft Tenant: WorldStores 15-25 Artillery Lane, 12,767 sq ft Tenant: Wallacespace 103 Wigmore Street, W1 11,855 sq ft Tenant: Undisclosed Significant March deals City deal of the month Thomas More Square, E1 Type of deal Sale Size 566,000 sq ft Seller Land Securities Buyer Resolution Property Price £300m Yield 5.5% Louisa Clarence-Smith, EG’s City reporter, says: Resolution Property’s £300m acquisition of the Thomas More Square estate is a welcome boost for the City investment market as sales stall amid Brexit uncertainty. The sale of the east London campus for a net initial yield of 5.5% represents a significant profit for LandSec, which acquired the remaining 50% share of the building in 2014 for £85.3m from an affiliate of its joint venture partner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. The campus, formerly home to News International, comprises 534,000 sq ft of offices and 13,000 sq ft of retail. Tenants include technology firm Equitini, marketing company Digital Window, UK Payments, Integron and charity St Mungo’s Broadway. West End deal of the month 61 Oxford Street, W1 Type of deal Sale Size 50,000 sq ft Seller BA Pension Fund Buyer Chinese Estates Price £183m Yield 2.5% Shekha Vyas, EG’s West End reporter, says: Joseph Lau’s Chinese Estates has emerged as the frontrunner to buy the freehold of Zara’s new shop at the east end of Oxford Street for £183m – a 2.5% yield. CBRE was instructed to market 61 Oxford Street, W1, last year on behalf of BA Pension Fund. It includes a 35,000 sq ft flagship Zara, 14,000 sq ft of offices, and six flats, branded as 11 Soho Street. This would be the second purchase in less than a month for Chinese Estates, which recently acquired the Mayfair headquarters of private bank Kleinwort Benson at 14 St George Street, W1, for £121.7m. The eastern end of Oxford Street has seen a wave of investment ahead of Crossrail opening in 2018. People, politics and peculiarities Pitching development It seems you can’t turn around in property land without tripping over an ex-footballer getting into development these days. Former-Manchester United player Rio Ferdinand is the latest, having launched social housing project Legacy, alongside Mark Noble (captain of West Ham United) and Bobby Zamora (now at Brighton & Hove Albion, previously Spurs). Discussions are under way with the London Borough of Newham as well as Croydon. Dogged by delays More off the pitch drama, this time in southwest London where the GLA has called in plans for a new AFC Wimbledon Stadium. The club wants to redevelop the greyhound site on Plough Lane, SW18. On his way to Number 10 Richard Blakeway, deputy mayor for housing, has lined up a Downing Street role after next month’s mayoral elections. He will replace Alex Morton, who has been a special adviser on housing and planning since 2013. Candidates’ housing visions Meanwhile, the mayoral race is hotting up, with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith going for quantity while Labour’s candidate Sadiq Khan goes for affordability in their housing manifestos. Goldsmiths says he will double house building in London to 50,000 homes a year and appoint an architect for London, while Khan has said he would introduce an expectation into the London Plan that half of the homes in new developments should be affordable. Not a bargain basement Going underground has taken on new meaning for businessman Robert Beecham. He has been granted planning permission by Camden council for a 200ft long mega-basement below his home in London’s Primrose Hill. The basement will include a banquet hall, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath and a salt grotto. The latter, just in case you were wondering, is the latest health fad to arrive in London. New role for Lord Heseltine There’s also a new job for Lord Heseltine who will lead the Thames Estuary 2050 growth commission charged with devising a strategy for east London, north Kent and south Essex. U + I = Fire station refurb U + I has been chosen as partner to redevelop the former London Fire Brigade HQ on Albert Embankment. The building has been partially vacant since 2008. Olympic boost keeps going JLL is predicting above the London average house price growth for Stratford as the post-Olympics regeneration continues. Circus complete Consolidated Developments has been granted planning consent by Camden Council for the final piece of its £90m St Giles Circus development in the West End. Prime worries Prime London residential prices fell 0.3% in the first quarter of 2016 according to research by Savills which cited uncertainty about Brexit and the economy. Out of Credit Credit Suisse is to cut a further 2,000 jobs with most being made at its investment bank operation in Canary Wharf. Not much affordable The number of affordable homes being built in London has reached a record low according to GLA figures. • The EG London team gauges the trials and tribulations of the capital’s property market.