MORNING NEWS: Lateral and Ballymore close to Camden deal

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. Camden Council is close to entering into an agreement with a joint venture between Lateral and Ballymore to bring forward a £500m mixed-use scheme in the borough, which has both affordable housing and life sciences elements. The news comes after the process to procure a development partner was launched more than a year ago. The scheme, which sits in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter, comprises 3.56 acres across two council-owned sites at 120-136 Camley Street and 3-30 Cedar Way, N1. The proposals include construction of around 350 homes, of which around 170 will be genuinely affordable, alongside the delivery of more than 200,000 sq ft of commercial space for the life sciences, technology, and digital industries. In exclusive analysis, we have dug into the data behind Carpetright’s vacant stores following the company’s administration and sale. The portfolio comprises more than 130 individual landlords, with Columbia Threadneedle, M&G, the Crown Estate, Landsec and British Land having some of the highest exposure in terms of retail store count.  Retail park locations make up the bulk of the 239-strong in-administration portfolio, with 177 stores now being sold by CBRE. For the rest of the breakdown, click here. While some corporate occupiers dial back their real estate requirements, buy-to-let peer-to-peer mortgage lender Landbay has increased its office space in the capital more than fivefold, moving to a new Kennedy Wilson-owned block. The company has relocated from its previous offices at Grosvenor’s 60 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1, to 111 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1. The 10-year lease will run until July 2034 and see the company expand from its previous floorspace of 3,895 sq ft rented at £55 per sq ft to 22,173 sq ft at £82.50 per sq ft. Avant Homes has sold a portfolio of 127 single-family rental homes to a joint venture between Gatehouse Investment Management and Carlyle for £26m. The deal will see the delivery of 45 homes at Avant’s Pavilion Acres development in Walsall, 42 homes at Eden Fields in Edenthorpe, Doncaster, and 40 homes at Bennerley View in Awsworth, Nottinghamshire. The agreement is the first of its type between Avant Homes and Gatehouse IM. In this morning’s listed real estate news, rents are rising at later living investor ReSI, while Capital & Regional has welcomed a “rapid re-leasing” of its retail space. And retail bellwether Next updated on trading this morning with figures well ahead of expectations. Full-price sales were up by 3.2% compared with last year, exceeding expectations by £42m. Half-price sales were up 4.4%, against an expectation of 2.5% growth. Despite the strong first half, however, the retailer remained cautious for the full year, predicting overall sales growth of 2.5%. There’s also news on Canary Wharf Group’s latest planning application on the estate, a tipped approval for Derwent and Lazari’s Baker Street redevelopment, and signs of a bottoming out in the US office market. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:Camden Council nears deal for £500m Knowledge Quarter schemeUnder the rug: inside the Carpetright collapseGatehouse IM acquires £26m SFH portfolioKennedy Wilson lands new tenant at Victoria officeRents rise at later living investor ReSICapital & Regional welcomes ‘rapid re-leasing’ as demand liftsPeople, not profit will lead property to prosperPlanning reform needs the right numbers behind itUS office sector bottoms outFinal green light for 3,500 homes in CambridgeshireSunderland’s screen industry gets £25m public sector backingTilia finds partner to bring forward affordable homesLotus Property strikes letting deal with Hollywood BowlAmazon set to get new neighbours at Summit ParkTritax gets nod for 1.1m sq ft of Gloucester shedsStrettons appoints new head of lease advisoryRolls-Royce sells Nottinghamshire site for £50m developmentVabel gets backing for second Queensway siteGovernment appoints taskforce for new towns initiativeCrosstree acquires 431-bed Tottenham PBSA schemeDerwent and Lazari’s Baker Street scheme back up for approvalAres and Lone Star provide £755m for Quintain’s Wembley ParkCanary Wharf Group submits plans to revamp Montgomery SquarePlatform acquires riverside site in BristolBank of England close to cutting rates from 16-year highTaylor Wimpey expects cladding work costs to hit £333m (£)Britain’s biggest pub company gets £250m support as £2bn debts weigh (£)‘Worst is behind us’ on China property crisis, says HSBC boss (£)