Royal London Sells Oxford Street Block: 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.
Royal London Asset Management Property has completed the sale of 149-151 Oxford Street to retailer Pop Mart for £63M.
The 32,800 SF mixed-use property includes retail, office and residential accommodation across two addresses, 149-151 Oxford Street and 59 Berwick Street. Circa 19K SF is dedicated to retail, arranged over the basement, ground and first floors fronting Oxford Street.
Royal London said that the sale allows it to redeploy capital into developing and acquiring “super prime, best-in-class assets,” including the 1.3-acre Mayfair Quarter development on New Bond Street, which received planning approval in February 2025.
“This sale provides a clear example of our commitment to actively manage our portfolio in line with our long-term vision and the overall performance of our portfolio,” Royal London Asset Management Property Senior Asset Manager Moira Hamilton said in a statement.
Royal London Asset Management Property was represented by Savills and Colliers, while Cushman & Wakefield represented the buyer.
FINANCE
U.S.-based Shadowbox Studios has secured £250M in financing from Apollo Global Management funds for its UK film and television facility Shinfield Studios near Reading.
The refinancing of a £261.5M facility provided by Cain International in 2022 comes after construction completed at Shinfield Studios last year, when the site became fully operational. Films and television productions shot there include Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and The Acolyte.
The circa 1M SF facility is one of the largest studios in the UK and includes 18 soundstages, workshops, office space and more than 11 acres of backlot.
Shadowbox is owned and controlled by affiliates of Commonwealth Asset Management and Silver Lake.
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Supermarket Income REIT has completed a £215M secured term loan for its joint venture with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital through a bank syndicate comprising Barclays, HSBC, ING and SMBC.
The interest-only facility has a maturity of three years, with two one-year extension options at the lenders’ discretion, and has been priced at a margin of 1.5% above the Sterling Overnight Index Average.
The company will receive 50% of the proceeds from the facility, which will initially be used to repay drawings under existing debt facilities, prior to redeployment, with a loan-to-value of circa 31%.
LEASING
Women’s Super League Football has relocated from Wembley Stadium to managed office space provided by MetSpace in Clerkenwell. The new 2,500 SF office marks the league’s first dedicated office since becoming independent last year.
“This is our first office since setting up as an independent company and marks a significant step in our journey,” WSL Football Head of Business Management Georgie Acons said in a statement. “It enables us to build on the foundations we’ve laid for our own identity and culture.”
MetSpace manages more than 50 floors across central London locations.
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Global Holdings Management Group has signed a lease agreement with global accounting and business advisory firm CFGI to occupy a 7,800 SF workspace at Twenty Two Upper Ground at the Sea Containers development on a five-year term.
Twenty Two Upper Ground offers more than 62K SF of office space spread across eight floors, adjacent to Global Holdings Management Group’s Barge Crescent, a 35K SF riverside development that is reaching practical completion.
Bluebook and USP are the appointed leasing agents for Twenty Two Upper Ground.
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BauMont Real Estate Capital and YardNine have secured Macfarlanes as a tenant at the Edenica development in the City of London. This latest agreement brings the 90K SF Grade A office building to nearly 65% occupancy, with tenants including Technip Energies, Fletcher Priest Architects and Boies Schiller Flexner.
Macfarlanes will take the third floor, totalling 11K SF, in a building that has achieved WiredScore Platinum and is targeting BREEAM Outstanding status.
Knight Frank and RX London advised YardNine, with Cushman & Wakefield advising Macfarlanes.
PLANNING
Following a first round of public consultation in April and May, Berkeley Estate Asset Management and architect Kohn Pedersen Fox have released detailed designs for the transformation of 33 Cavendish Square.
The urban block includes more than 300 feet of prime retail frontage on Oxford Street and will provide circa 124K SF of retail space, a dedicated cultural and creative hub, comprising circa 38K SF, plus more than 807K SF of office space through a combination of retrofit and new build.
PEOPLE
Evans Randall Investors has appointed Michael Hardman as development director, supporting the continued expansion of its commercial and research and development portfolio.
Hardman joins from the Sovereign Wealth Portfolio, where he served as director of property development. Based in Europe for the past five years, he initially joined Porto Montenegro in a senior capacity before leading the strategic development of a 70-acre regeneration project.
In his new role, Hardman will oversee the delivery of the firm’s development pipeline and identify new opportunities.
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Victoria Hills, who has led the Royal Town Planning Institute for nearly eight years, is to step down from her post as CEO to take up the role of CEO at the Chartered Institute of Building.
Hills will remain in post until later in the year to allow for a smooth transition while the board of trustees begins a recruitment process for her replacement, the RTPI said.
