This Week's 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.
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is to open its third London hotel, Mandarin Oriental Bankside, in 2028.
The hotel will be part of the larger Bankside Yards development and is being developed by a consortium that includes Hotel Properties, Native Land and Amcorp Properties Berhad.
The development will comprise a standalone building expected to have 171 guestrooms and 70 branded Residences at Mandarin Oriental, plus the Spa at Mandarin Oriental with a 25-metre lap pool and a fitness centre.
Four restaurants will be on the first and the 19th floors, while the Residences at Mandarin Oriental will feature a sky lobby lounge, private roof garden and parking.
“The arrival of a Mandarin Oriental hotel and branded residences will be one of the most important elements in our intention to offer the very best amenities side-by-side with world-class cultural institutions, top-tier businesses and a rich and varied community,” Native Land chief executive Alasdair Nicholls said in a statement.
DEVELOPMENT
The Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund has secured planning permission to redevelop Minerva House, Fitzroy House and Telephone Exchange — part Grade II-listed landmark office buildings on Chenies Street in Bloomsbury — into a 107K SF workspace.
This represents a 37% increase on the current floor area following the addition of two further floors and a roof terrace just off Tottenham Court Road.
SCREF will work with development partner Stanhope to reposition the heritage office buildings, which sit in the Bloomsbury Conservation Area, into a sustainability and wellbeing-led office scheme designed by architect Morris+Co.
During the redevelopment, 87% of the existing building structure along with 84% of the existing primary facades will be retained to reduce embodied carbon during the construction process.
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Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, supported by LS Estates, have obtained revised planning permission for the repurposing of 17 Columbus Courtyard into a life sciences scheme.
Collaborating with architect Scott Brownrigg and planning adviser Avison Young, the approved plans involve transforming the existing office building situated in Canary Wharf into a state-of-the-art facility for life sciences and technology.
The building will undergo expansion to provide approximately 200K SF of flexible laboratory and office space spanning nine upper floors.
The lower floors will include the introduction of double-height bay windows facing the public realm at Columbus Courtyard, Oaktree said.
The proposals include a community science lounge with meeting spaces and a café, with the ground and first floors likely to cater to late-stage startup companies, while the upper floors will focus on larger occupiers with bespoke occupational requirements.
The redevelopment is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2025.
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Helical has been confirmed as the joint venture partner with TfL to deliver new office space above or close to London tube stations, consisting of three new commercial office developments at Bank, Paddington and Southwark, totalling circa 600K SF.
Bank Over-Station Development is located above the new station entrance on Cannon Street. The eight-storey development, along with a basement, will include office and retail space of around 140K SF net internal area, external terraces on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors, and a green roof. A start on-site is envisaged next year.
Paddington Over-Station Development is located by Grand Union Canal, and the 19-storey building has permission to deliver new office and retail space of around 235K SF NIA. A start on-site is anticipated in 2026.
Southwark Over-Station Development is located above Southwark tube station, and this 17-storey hybrid timber building will be around 220K SF NIA, with a mixture of commercial office space and retail space. It is expected that construction will start in 2025.
The equity joint venture split is 51% Helical and 49% TfL
ACQUISITIONS
Infrastructure Investments has sold three purpose-built student accommodation blocks to a fund managed by Hermes for over £18.57M, reflecting a 5% net initial yield.
The three buildings, Blocks J, K and L in the Rachel McMillan Student Village development, SE8, consist of 120 beds arranged in six-bedroom cluster flats that are let to Study Group for a term of 30 years, expiring in September 2034.
The Rachel McMillan Student Village is close to the University of Greenwich and Goldsmiths, University of London.
Irwin Mitchell advised Infrastructure Investments.
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The investment arm of Irish construction group McAleer & Rushe has bought Liberty House, Hammersmith, for an undisclosed sum.
The development spans 90K SF of office space across two buildings on Hammersmith Road, next to the headquarters of retailer Harrods.
Liberty House was sold by real estate manager Catella APAM on behalf of its Danish client Britannia Invest.
“The purchase of 76 and 80 Hammersmith Road is a rare opportunity to reposition a 1.4-acre freehold site in west London, adding to our strong portfolio of development and investment sites in key cities across the UK,” MRP Development Director Angus Monteith said in a statement.
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Newcore Capital has acquired seven assets across Greater London and commuter towns on behalf of Newcore Special Situations V for a gross purchase price of circa £25M.
Four assets in Greater London include children’s nurseries in Whitton and Clapham, both occupied by Fennies Day Nurseries.
The portfolio extends to towns surrounding Greater London, including a school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, which Newcore has leased to Outcomes First Group, and a children’s nursery occupied by Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
Newcore also acquired two petrol stations in Crouch End and Streatham and its first mortuary in Surrey, which Dignity Funerals occupies.
In May, Newcore secured £190M in equity commitments from investors like Merseyside and Clwyd local government pension schemes, two European fund-of-funds managers, insurance and corporate pension schemes, family offices and high net worth individuals.
LEASING
Great Portland Estates has completed the leasing at The Hickman on Whitechapel Road, E1, after letting the remaining office space to digital transformation company TPXimpact.
TPXimpact will occupy 7K SF on the second floor on a fitted basis with a five-year lease, with an option to break at year three.
Recent lettings in the building also include New Look, which will occupy 23K SF of offices on the third and fourth floors, committing to 10-year leases with an option to break at year seven, and Goodlord, which occupies the remaining 4,600 SF on the second floor.
The new occupiers will join Runway East and Four, which are already in occupation.
PEOPLE
Despina Katsikakis, executive partner and global lead for Cushman & Wakefield Total Workplace consulting, has been elected as president of the British Council for Offices.
She succeeds Mark Kowal, partner at Sheppard Robson. Peter Crowther, managing director at Bruntwood, has become senior vice president.
BCO honorary Treasurer James Clark, partner at Core Five, is to be succeeded by Bruce Paterson, founding partner at Quantem.
