LondonMetric Makes £79M Of Portfolio Acquisitions: The London Deal Sheet
The Deal Sheet is a weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond's biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
LondonMetric Property has made £78.5M of triple-net-lease acquisitions across five transactions, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.5%, which the company said it expected to increase to 6.3% over five years.
The nine assets add £4.6M per annum of rent. The portfolio consists of five Premier Inn hotels acquired for £44.4M from Whitbread, located in Chatham, Exeter St David’s, Penzance, Southampton and Witney; an 80K SF logistics warehouse with Harrison Developments in Malton, acquired for £10.7M and prelet to Severfield; a 68K SF logistics warehouse in the West Midlands, acquired for £8.3M; a 21K SF convenience store development in Ludlow, acquired for £7.6M and prelet to M&S; and a 40K SF convenience asset in Tunbridge Wells, acquired for £7.5M and let to Booker.
Following the hotels acquisition, Whitbread is now LondonMetric’s sixth-largest occupier, accounting for £6.4M of rent per annum.
DEALS
Private investor Belsio has partnered with Valorem Investment Partners to acquire a Soho office block at 1-5 Poland Street for £41M.
Home to TAG Worldwide’s London headquarters, the art nouveau office was redeveloped behind a retained facade in 2021 to provide circa 27K SF of office space and in the same year was acquired by Aquarelle from Orchard Street Investment Management for around £42.5M.
SALES
Vastint has separately appointed JLL and KPMG to advise on the sale of a UK hotel portfolio valued at approximately £500M, following the completion of a strategic review.
The portfolio includes 15 purpose-built Marriott-branded hotels, totalling 3,230 rooms, and is operated by Vastint’s in-house platform, Hotel Co 51 UK, under franchise agreements. It includes the largest Moxy estate in Europe, alongside AC by Marriott and Courtyard by Marriott properties.
Each property holds Green Key and LEED or BREEAM certifications, with an average build age of five years.
“This portfolio offers significant embedded growth potential and operational upside, underpinned by sustainability and scale — an exceptional proposition for strategic investors,” KPMG Head of UK Real Estate M&A Phil Shields said in a statement.
FUNDING
JRL Group and Housing Growth Partnership, a Lloyds-backed equity investor in the UK living sector, have formed a £145M joint venture to deliver a 414-home multifamily scheme in Luton.
The Castle Street development will comprise 402 private rental apartments and 12 discounted market-rent homes across three blocks, plus a rooftop lounge, coworking spaces, a gym, landscaped roof terraces and shared gardens.
HGP is providing £28M of equity funding for the JV, which will sit alongside JRL’s equity, and practical completion is expected in December 2027.
LEASING
British Land has completed a 50K SF leasing transaction at Exchange House, Broadgate, to MSCI, which will be taking one floor of recently surrendered space from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, along with some vacant space.
The building is 88% let or under offer, and the transaction follows a 77K SF deal to take upgraded office buildings in Broadgate, with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld taking up the surrendered space at 155 Bishopsgate last year.
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Hypha Studios, supported by the Cheapside Business Alliance, has signed new leases at No 1 Poultry to deliver three gallery spaces on the building’s ground floor. The units measure over 6,500 SF in total and will be activated for 12 months with a programme of exhibitions and cultural events.
Colliers acted as leasing agent, and the project converts previously vacant retail units into cultural spaces and will host 24 exhibitions across the year, with the programme launching on 24 September.
Since 2021, Hypha Studios has repurposed more than 58 empty commercial sites across the UK, enabling more than 2,000 artists to create and present work in exchange for hosting free public events.
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Barings, alongside its joint venture partner and development manager LBS Properties, has let the sixth floor of Tide Bankside to engineering and environmental consultancy Waterman Group.
The business will occupy 14K SF on a 15-year lease at Tide Bankside on London’s South Bank district. CBRE advised Waterman.
Managed on behalf of Barings’ second European real estate value-add fund, Tide comprises 145K SF of office space across 11 upper floors alongside a ground-floor retail unit. Having been completed in the fourth quarter, occupiers include Workplaces Futures Group, Flight Centre, flexible workspace provider NewFlex and healthcare communications consultancy Costello Medical.
Designed by architect Squire & Partners, the building is certified net-zero carbon for embodied carbon and is targeting net-zero certification in operational carbon. It has so far achieved a NABERS five-star rating and an A energy performance certificate, and it is pending BREEAM Outstanding certification.
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Oryx Real Estate Partners has agreed to a circa 47K SF letting with footwear brand Skechers at its St Albans’ Centrium buildings. Skechers is nearly tripling its footprint at Centrium, where Oryx has completed an ESG-led asset management programme.
Skechers has signed long-term leases through 2037 for Buildings 2 and 3, expanding from its base in Building 3, which it has occupied since 2017. Following a full Cat A and Cat B fit-out, the company is expected to occupy both buildings from next year.
Oryx’s refurbishment includes improving both buildings to an EPC B rating.
PLANNING
The City of London Corporation has approved plans to restore and convert the Grade I-listed Custom House building on Lower Thames Street into a new 179-room hotel.
Formerly an office used by His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the new hotel will feature a spa, health centre and a range of food and beverage uses.
Developer Custom House City Ltd, a subsidiary of Jastar Capital, secured approval to convert the former HMRC building, while the proposals for the wider site are also set to deliver new public space on the riverside.
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Real estate developer, owner and operator Dominus has submitted plans to transform a telephone exchange into a new 240-room hotel at 123 Judd Street in Camden.
Designed by architect Stiff + Trevillion, the proposals aim to retain, refurbish and upgrade the building, with the hotel being managed by its Dominus Hospitality platform. Alongside this, Dominus is proposing the creation of an on-site Camden Hospitality Academy, in partnership with The Springboard Charity and supported by Hilton.
Dominus is also converting former offices at 65 Fleet Street and 5-10 Great Tower Street into an 875-bed student housing scheme and a 234-room hotel. The new hotel, The Derby London City, Curio Collection by Hilton, is set to open in early 2026 and will be the sixth hotel owned by Dominus and managed by Dominus Hospitality.
