MORNING NEWS: Sign off for trio of Square Mile-shaping projects

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. The City of London Corporation’s planning committee has signed off three projects in one sitting that highlight a trio of trends shaping the Square Mile’s built environment. First, the need to revamp some of the area’s tired market stock. Freshwater Group’s proposals for the redevelopment of Tenter House at 45 Moorfields, EC2, drew a lot of complaints from residents of the nearby Barbican Estate. But the plans for a part-14, part-21-storey block with 363,400 sq ft of offices and 3,100 sq ft of retail were approved by 14 councillors to four. Next, the desire to turn some of that tired office stock into residential. Dominus and Cheyne Capital received a unanimous approval for the redevelopment of empty offices at 65 Fleet Street, EC4, into a student accommodation scheme. And finally, giving a lift to the City’s leisure space. An empty Fleet Street bank once home to HSBC will be turned into a mini-golf and bowling venue under another approval at Tuesday’s meeting. That project too received objections, with nearby residents worried about noise from late-night revellers. The committee ruled that the site should close at 11pm on weeknights, rather than 2am. Time Out is stepping up the pace of opening food halls in its Markets business, as it raises fresh funds to back its first London site. As EG revealed last week, the company is in talks with the Crown Estate to take a space on Piccadilly Circus for its long-awaited first site in London. Time Out is now raising £8m through a new share sale to fund that project as well as a new site in New York. It said the London site requires an initial cash outlay of £2.6m for the rent deposit on a 15-year lease. Anticipated handover is in 2026, with opening expected in 2027. Elsewhere in the capital, online publisher LadBible is on the hunt for a new base in London, with a focus on Old Street and the City fringe submarkets. The company is looking for a space of 30,000-50,000 sq ft, with Savills advising on the search. A spokesperson for the company told EG that its lease at the Relay Building at 114 Whitechapel High Street, E1, is up in 2026 and that the team is “assessing our options”. Apache Capital is weighing up the disposal of a £200m build-to-rent scheme in Manchester. Angel Gardens, run by Moda Living, comprises 466 homes in a 35-storey building, providing 23,000 sq ft of amenity space and 22,000 sq ft of commercial space. Savills has been appointed to explore options “in light of inbound interest from the market”. There’s also news on single-family driving a rise in BTR investment; JLL’s new artificial intelligence platform; and a sweet deal between Lindt and Landsec at the Piccadilly Lights. All of the news from EG, plus a selection of headlines from the nationals:Controversial Tenter House City tower approvedFleet Street student scheme given green lightCity bank-to-crazy golf scheme lands on greenTime Out taps shareholders for London food hallLadBible looks for new London officeApache ‘exploring options’ for Angel Gardens saleBTR investment surges as institutions target SFH marketJLL launches new AI platformCIP unveils plans for rundown housing estateNext phase of Manchester Mayfield out for consultationStockport Town Centre East doubles up on its housing ambitionLindt and Landsec seal sweet deal for Piccadilly shopUK and Germany are Cushman’s top picks for property investmentPBSA outperforms all commercial property for third yearIput names Gleeson as new non-execUniqlo threads together deal for Liverpool debutPremcor submits new vision for Croydon’s Woburn and Bedford CourtBrydell Partners bags two Travelodge hotelsBarwood buys brace of South Cambridge labsMatter nabs Nuveen finance boss amid investment team expansionStaybrook hires head of office occupier strategyCBRE grows Scottish team with hire from Montagu EvansWhitbread completes £56m sale-and-leasebackUK mortgage approvals hit highest since before 2022 ‘mini-Budget’The commercial real estate crash is battering even the safest bonds (£)HS2’s zombie legacy is hanging over Reeves (£)