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 [email protected].
Property investment and asset management company Resolution Property has secured Northeastern University–London and Moove UK Opco as new tenants at Moretown, leasing a total of around 10K SF at the six-building office hub in London E1.
The deals follow an 8,500 SF letting to Uber, and Northeastern University–London has signed a five-year lease of a 7,700 SF first-floor unit in Building 1, previously occupied by Global Tea.
In Building 2, Moove UK Opco has signed a five-year lease of a 2,200 SF unit on the ground floor for £41.50 per SF, with the view to acquiring additional space at Moretown to support further growth.
Resolution Property acquired Moretown in 2016 and has been transforming the estate into a mixed-use destination campus and working environment. The latest lease agreements bring occupancy to 80%.
Resolution Property was advised by Allsop and BH2, and Northeastern University–London was represented by Knight Frank.
ACQUISITIONS
Clearbell Property Partners IV, a fund managed by Clearbell Capital, has announced the acquisition of six regional industrial assets from UK property investment firm Palace Capital for £34M at £109 per SF, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.2%.
The portfolio comprises six industrial and logistics assets throughout the UK: Coventry, Avonmouth, Newbury, Kettering, Burgess Hill and Verwood. The 312K SF portfolio generates £2.2M of rent a year and is 97% occupied by e-commerce operators, manufacturers and distributors.
This latest acquisition reflects Clearbell’s strategy of investing in industrial. In November 2016, Clearbell Property Partners II LP sold its 1.6M SF Nevado portfolio to Blackstone for £125M. This was followed by the sale of the Cara portfolio, an aggregator platform of 22 assets, for £120M in March 2020 on behalf of Clearbell Property Partners III.
Clearbell was advised by CBRE, and Palace Capital was advised by Gerald Eve.
FINANCE
Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, one of the UK’s largest asset owner pools, has appointed Abrdn to support the launch and portfolio management of its UK real estate proposition.
Border to Coast’s 11 local government pension fund shareholders and investors collectively invest circa £4B in directly held properties and indirect property funds. The Border to Coast UK real estate proposition, due to launch in late 2024, is designed to help partner funds to benefit from the scale that pooling brings.
Abdrn will work with Border to Coast’s internal real estate investment team to support, develop and implement the investment strategy.
“UK Real Estate is a fundamental asset class for our partner funds’ wider investment strategies,” Border to Coast Head of Real Estate Alistair Smith said. “Our collective scale will allow us to deliver significant value for our partner funds, enabling us to invest in high-quality assets and manage them for the long term, while meeting our, and our partner funds’, responsible investment and net-zero commitments.”
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Blackfinch Property has completed its largest loan to date, a £20M refinancing for a mixed portfolio of 54 residential and commercial properties across east London.
The 24-month deal will enable the landlord to continue to provide residential and commercial properties to London tenants, with funds also released for further improvement works.
The loan is structured to incentivise the borrower to improve the Energy Performance Certificate ratings for the 30% of the properties that were less energy-efficient should the energy-saving work be completed in time.
Blackfinch Property’s previous largest loan was a £14.8M residential development loan in the South East completed at the end of 2022, and the loan book has increased by 61% over the last year.
LEASING
Luxury brand Chanel is more than doubling its London headquarters at a new property in Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
The brand plans to move its teams to the new London building, designed by Piercy & Co., by the end of 2025. Chanel has signed a tenancy agreement for the new building for the next 20 years with the possibility of extending it by another decade.
Chanel moved its global headquarters from New York to London in 2018. The new lease covers 86K SF across 11 floors. Chanel’s headcount grew 12% last year to 32,000 employees, with plans to increase by another 16% this year.
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Luxury real estate company Sotheby’s International Realty is moving to 48 Conduit Street in a deal brokered by Savills on behalf of a private landlord.
The building comprises approximately 4,800 SF over six floors and will be used as a showroom by Sotheby’s to showcase its luxury residences.
Conduit Street will see the opening of London’s first St. Regis hotel in 2024.
“Our new showroom sets the stage to redefine client expectations, offering a fresh and unparalleled experience in London's luxury property market, our first bold step towards reshaping the way exclusive real estate is bought, sold and rented," Sotheby’s International Realty UK CEO George Azar said.
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Manchester’s Mission Mars is to take over the former Rainforest Café site on Shaftesbury Avenue to launch London’s first Alberts Schloss.
The Alpine-themed Albert's Cook Haus and Bavarian Bier Palace is due to open in spring 2024 and will serve dishes like fondue, schnitzel and bratwurst across 500 covers, and it will house four bars.
The site, most recently branded as Jungle Cave, will be the fourth Alberts Schloss in the UK after Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.
“It’s a stunning 18K SF space in the famous Trocadero in the heart of the West End,” Mission Mars CEO Roy Ellis said.
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Credit Suisse Asset Management has pre-let 46K SF at The Carter, 11 Pilgrim Street, to global CEO advisory firm Teneo.
The Carter completes in June this year and will deliver 116K SF of Grade A office accommodation. The building is being refurbished and extended while reusing the existing structure, substructure and facade, reducing its carbon usage by 61% compared to a new build. This leaves 69.5K SF remaining from the lower ground to third floors.
RX London advised CSAM on the deal.
PEOPLE
B&B Hotels has announced the appointment of Patrick O’Connell as the new CEO of its UK operations as it progresses its growth ambitions to open 100 new hotels in the UK by 2035.
O'Connell brings more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, covering operations, major investment programmes, hotel openings and acquisitions. He has held senior management positions in the UK and Ireland with Doyle Collection, Mint Hotels and Hilton, most recently as head of hotels at Queensgate Investments.
With nearly 700 hotels in 16 countries, B&B has hotels across Europe, Brazil and the U.S. and is looking to partner with existing hotel owners, developers, landowners, funds and real estate owners in the UK.
