Developers go green in London
The Crown Estate, Grosvenor, Shaftesbury, Howard de Walden Estate and Portland Estate, are teaming up to promote green infrastructure through the Wild West End ecology project. Supported by the mayor of London and the London Wildlife Trust, the first phase will create a 2.5-acre corridor of green “stepping stones” between The Crown’s Regent Street and St James’s holdings. The developers will share data and best practice.
Student investment tops £3.8bn
Investment in UK student housing in 2015 has exceeded £3.8bn in the first six months of the year and is set to hit a record of nearly £5.8bn by year end, according to the latest figures released by JLL. The second quarter of the year saw £1.6bn transacted – a 126% increase on the same period last year.
Patrizia eyes First Street project
Patrizia has submitted plans for a 170,000 sq ft grade-A office block at its newly acquired First Street development in Manchester. The scheme will comprise a mix of retail and office space on Tony Wilson Place.
Swatch clocks record rent
Watch manufacturer Swatch Group has signed for its first stand-alone Longines shop at 411 Oxford Street, W1. It will pay an annual rent of £535,000 for a 1,000 sq ft shop. It is a record rent for Oxford Street, at more than £1,000 per sq ft zone A. Savills advised landlord Circle Group.
Leasing hits 17-year high
Almost 6.3m sq ft of central London office space was leased in the first half of 2015, the highest half-year volume since 1998, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The total, supported by major deals in east London and the City, is 13% up on the same point in 2014, when 5.6m sq ft was transacted.
