MORNING NEWS: Crown Estate seals deal for new Irish Embassy

Good morning. Here’s your daily round-up of the latest news and views from EG and a collection of real estate-relevant headlines from the national papers. London’s new Irish Embassy will be based in a Crown Estate development in St James’s. The new Ireland House will span 30,000 sq ft on the ground floor and the first, sixth, seventh and eight floors of 10 Spring Gardens, SW1. Refurbishment is already under way and should be complete in 2025. Simon-Harding Roots, managing director for London at the Crown Estate, said the building is a “fitting new location” for the embassy and its state agencies. “The establishment of this new relationship between the government of Ireland and the Crown Estate clearly demonstrates the high demand for quality workspace in the West End, as the London market continues to evolve and strengthen,” he added. US pharma giant Eli Lilly is relaunching its search for a London base, more than a year after putting plans on hold due to pricing and regulatory pressures in the capital.
 
 Lilly UK, the firm’s local arm, headquartered in Basingstoke, Hampshire, has again instructed CBRE to look for space in London. However, the requirement has more than halved in size to 30,000 sq ft from 70,000 sq ft.
A deal would still see Lilly bring early-stage companies into an accelerator environment with the aim to grow their businesses and take their products to market. Grosvenor’s Billiards Building has become Birmingham’s first listed office to achieve net zero and EPC A status. Grosvenor acquired the building in 2021 and upgraded it as part of a £35m capital investment programme across its regional offices. It is now fully electric-powered, which, alongside other interventions to improve energy efficiency, has helped improve operational energy usage and move from an EPC rating of E to A. Office portfolio director Fergus Evans said the work “shows how existing buildings can be successfully refurbished to create grade-A office space”. There’s also news on the latest letting at the Olympia development; an upturn in Scottish dealmaking; and more from EG’s recent Real Estate Futures event. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:New Irish Embassy planned at Crown Estate’s 10 Spring GardensEli Lilly revives search for a London hubGrosvenor pots net zero first with Billiards BuildingReal Estate Futures: Finding your path and building connectionsDevelopment partner search begins for Liverpool’s Festival GardensPeel prepares for 1,000 new homes in WiganEG Future Leaders: People and places – are they truly inclusive?Law firm lands at BroadgatePlans in for £38m industrial hub in SheffieldWhitbread gets planning for £200m Premier Inn on the StrandNorwich council lines up options for City Hall revampScottish investment has best third quarter in five yearsFestival Place Shopping Centre put on the blockLaw firm takes the entirety of Barings’ 25 MoorgateFinal phase of Cambridge’s Newbury Farm homes approvedBrum council sell off grows with more properties heading to auctionGCR CamProp strengthens development team with hire of Bidwells’ ButtressGym operator signs for space at £1.3bn Olympia redevelopmentVirgin Media O2 cuts its footprint in Lanarkshire office moveWe must build accessible housing to address inequalityNatWest backs Tetra industrial portfolio with £17m refiCushman appoints life sciences lease advisory partnerLaw firm downsizes Leeds office spaceM&G lends £200m against logistics and retail warehousingL&Q finance director to step downTech accelerator expands at Edinburgh TechnopoleHammerson prices £400m bond dealAviva puts Manchester office up for sale for £35mOrchard Street wins council pension fund mandateStudent accommodation firm Nido Living appoints finance headTrio unite for new European logistics investorSingaporean developer looks to reposition City officeAnwyl Homes lands plot at former RAF Burtonwood air baseImperial College London signs at White City PlaceCatesby Estates passes 32-acre Rugby resi plot to Miller HomesOffice starts tumble in Q3Property outperforms as fund outflows steady Dar appoints Howard Hughes co-founder as chairHuge shift in interest rate predictions as Bank of England chief says cuts could be more ‘aggressive’SSP Group sees profit miss on stronger pound, French weaknessBlackstone says property rebound will not save over-indebted office owners (£)Building new towns needs radical approach to planning and funding says task force chair (£)Rich London homebuyers get drawn to postcodes with aristocratic landowners (£)