Sainsbury’s estate loses £900m
Sainsbury’s wrote down the value of its property portfolio by £900m in the year to 14 March. The loss, which reduced the value of the retailer’s estate to £11.1bn, was attributed to a reduction in market rental values. The news came as Sainsbury’s posted its first pretax loss in a decade, at £72m for the year.
TfL signs for Stratford
Transport for London has signed a 265,000 sq ft prelet at Lend Lease’s and London and Continental Railway’s International Quarter in Stratford, E20. The £2.1bn scheme, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, will house 3,000 TfL workers. JLL and BNP Paribas Real Estate are the developers’ letting agents; BNP PRE acted for TfL. The signing is expected to trigger a sale of the block, as revealed by EG last month.
Manchester fire station for sale
Britannia Hotels has finally put up for sale the London Road Fire Station in Manchester city centre, after the council twice tried to CPO the 100,000 sq ft development project. Christie + Co is selling the site, which has consent for a 227-bedroom hotel.
Scottish transactions plummet
Scottish commercial property investment volumes fell by 37% in Q1, compared with the same period in 2014. According to the Scottish Property Federation, £615m was spent on Scottish property in Q1, compared with £975m in Q1 2014. In addition, the number of transactions fell from 1,120 in Q4 2014 to 854 in Q1 2015.
Bolton brothers in new venture
Altitude Real Estate partners Rob and Will Bolton have launched Real Estate View, a development company based in St Pancras Square, N1. The firm, which will trade as Review Partners, will source residential investment and development opportunities. The pair will remain partners at Altitude.
