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.
Octopus is targeting a capital raise of £750M for the fourth iteration of its real estate debt fund series, Octopus Real Estate Debt Fund IV. It will provide senior-secured, transitional debt, aiming to unlock “depreciated real estate and development sites to create modern places to live and work in the UK,” the company said.
The fund’s focus will be living sectors such as student housing, co-living, build-to-rent, build-to-sell, retirement living and care homes, while there will also be an allocation to offices, industrial and retail.
Since 2013, Octopus has lent more than £4.3B through its real estate debt strategy, which includes lending from its three previous commercial real estate debt funds.
“Building on the strong track record of our previous debt funds, the Octopus Real Estate Debt Fund is focused on delivering value for all partners,” Octopus Real Estate Managing Director Ed Clough said in a statement. “For investors, that means providing access to the real estate sector through the buffer of senior secured real estate loans. For developers, we are addressing the funding gap by providing tailored, flexible bridge and development funding solutions for transitional real estate.”
DEALS
Barings has agreed to the £152M forward funding with developer Glenbrook of a mixed build-to-rent and build-to-sell scheme near Leeds city centre. Glenbrook will retain a stake in the scheme and will be appointed as the development manager.
Acquired on behalf of a U.S. insurance company, the scheme on Kirkstall Road will deliver 618 one-, two- and three-bed apartments across five buildings sitting next to the River Aire. The 5-acre site will include more than 10K SF of amenity space, including a residents lounge, coworking and gym, two private roof terraces and 3,800 SF of commercial space. Construction has begun and is expected to complete by the end of 2027.
This will be the fourth BTR-led development that Barings and Glenbrook have collaborated on following the forward funding of Vox and the acquisition of The Trilogy in Manchester and The Keel in Liverpool, all managed by Allsop Letting and Management, which will also operate the Kirkstall Road site.
FOR SALE
Amro Partners and joint venture partner NTT UD Europe have announced that they will soon be engaging with investors with a view to exiting The Rex, their £85M gross development value co-living project in Kingston, with practical completion due this autumn.
The 212-unit part-retrofit development opposite Kingston train station was a 1960s office building before being converted into student accommodation in 2012.
In addition to 212 studio apartments, The Rex provides communal spaces including coworking areas, a residents lounge, a private dining room, a gym, a yoga studio, a cinema room and roof terraces.
FINANCE
Real estate lender Leumi UK has provided a £29M facility to Commercial Estates Group to refinance and progress the initial phases of a major residential scheme in Birmingham. This deal marks the second transaction between Leumi UK and CEG.
Located on Smallbrook Queensway, once developed, the site will comprise three build-to-rent towers that will provide a total of 1,635 apartments.
CEG was founded in 1989 and has worked on a range of projects from workspace and residential to retail, industrial and mixed-use. It holds planning consent for more than 30,000 homes and 10M SF of workspace.
LEASING
L&G and Mitsubishi Estate London have completed three lettings in 245 Hammersmith Road totalling more than 28K SF. AccorInvest and Mustard Systems have relocated from nearby buildings, and CFP Energy has taken an additional 13,800 SF in an expansion. A further 26K SF has been placed under offer for two separate tenants.
L&G has been delivering its fully fitted Capsule offer for life sciences companies in the building, which has appealed to several smaller requirements in the area and helped with leasing, the company said. Capsule provides furnished and work-ready office space.
BNP Paribas Real Estate and Savills represented L&G and Mitsubishi Estate London. Devono represented Mustard Systems, and Savills represented AccorInvest.
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Luxury workspace provider The Work Project is to open its first UK location at One Leadenhall in the City of London.
Developed by Brookfield Properties, One Leadenhall is approaching completion and will provide 430K SF of office space over 35 floors, including ground-floor retail space and a public terrace overlooking the adjacent Grade II-listed Victorian Leadenhall Market.
TWP at One Leadenhall will provide 30K SF of workspace over two floors on the 22nd and 23rd levels, and TWP said it is now targeting expansion in the London flexible workspace market.
DEVELOPMENT
Developer Regal has submitted a Section 73 amendment application for 100 Avenue Road in Camden, with the proposals designed to enhance the extant permission while maintaining the approved footprint and massing, the company said.
Regal agreed to purchase the site at 100 Avenue Road in March 2024, and its revised proposal retains the approved height of 24 storeys and massing, but the number of homes will increase from 184 to 237, with 35% designated as affordable housing, managed by a housing association.
The ground floor will include commercial and community spaces, including new community facilities developed in consultation with The Winch.
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Mixed-use development 1 Knightsbridge Green has been granted planning permission from Westminster Council for Berkeley Estate Asset Management after a submission by CBRE.
The 400K SF scheme will comprise a new corporate HQ building with a separate building aimed at small to medium-sized enterprise tenants and retail space. Upon completion in 2029, the amount of office floor space on site will double.
Sustainable development is at the heart of the permission. The development will retain 31% of the existing floor space and 81% of the structural mass of the original building.
ASSET MANAGEMENT
Student accommodation provider and investment manager Arlington Advisors has been appointed by King’s College London to manage the refurbishment and remedial works of the college’s Champion Hill estate in Denmark Hill.
The estate provides 714 beds for students in six blocks, one of which is a Grade II-listed building. It is occupied by King’s College London on a long leasehold from Dulwich Estates and was redeveloped in 2015.
The planning application for the refurbishment and remedial works was submitted in November 2024 and achieved consent in January 2025. Construction, led by Watkin Jones Group, will start in April, with completion expected on a phased basis in September 2026 and September 2027.
PEOPLE
Hospitality and leisure group Boxpark has appointed Matt Snell as its new CEO.
With more than 25 years in hospitality, Snell has held senior roles at brands like Gusto Italian, Fuller, Smith & Turner and Red’s True Barbecue. For the past 15 years, he has been overseen 100 premium pubs at Fuller’s and led the expansion of Red’s True Barbecue.
