A weekly round up of the latest planning and property news from the central London boroughs

City of London

Architects Journal reports that Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Sheppard Robson, the team behind London’s axed concert hall, have unveiled a new set of plans to redevelop the Museum of London site. According to studies by the City’s Property Investment Board, the existing buildings at 140-150 London Wall are ‘at the end of their design lives’, were not designed to modern fire or structural standards and would require significant remedial work to bring them back into safe use. It wants to build a new office-led scheme, consisting of a pair of buildings surrounded by a new public plaza, which would help ‘contribute to the funding’ needed to move the Museum of London to its new Stanton Williams and Asif Khan-designed home in West Smithfield.

Property Week reports that Infrastructure Investments has secured debt funding from ICG for a central London PBSA development with a £100m GDV. The debt will fund the redevelopment of Willen House, on Old Street, London into a 212-bed student building, which is set to open in September 2023. The £100m PBSA development will be operated with a nomination agreement from City University. Architects tpbennett will repurpose the 1950s property and target energy-saving credentials through retaining structural fabric, installing energy-efficient façades and connecting to the local district heating network.

Estates Gazette reports that BPP, which runs courses in conjunction with leading City law firms such as Linklaters and Slaughter and May, has exchanged contracts to lease 85,000 sq ft at the refurbished 1 Portsoken Street, E1. The education firm will take the first second and third floors of the eight-storey, 233,000 sq ft building, which includes 7,500 sq ft of retail space. The floors will be used as teaching space, however, this remains subject to a change-of-use planning application to the City of London. The upper four floors, totalling just under 100,000 sq ft, are being marketed for office use with an additional combined 8,600 sq ft of terraces.

Hackney

Property Week reports that HB Reavis has launched its plans for an office development in Shoreditch which will be entirely net zero carbon. Due to complete in early 2024, Worship Square will offer three different types of workspaces across 140,000 sq ft in London’s tech district. The scheme is trying to set a new benchmark for sustainability in London, with the embodied carbon targets at Worship Square more than 50% lower than the UKGBC 2020 baseline, and 18% lower than the 2030 GLA target. The London developer say the scheme will also heavily promote employee wellbeing, with a fitness studio, gardens, an in-house restaurant, over 3,200 plants and the use of smart technology helping it target WELL Platinum certification.

Kensington and Chelsea 

Property Week reports that the Daily Mail’s parent company has signed a new 15-year lease at its current building subject to a comprehensive refurbishment. The agreement will see Daily Mail & General Trust’s (DMGT) cut the amount of space it leases at Northcliffe House on 2 Derry Street – which will be rebranded as the Barkers Building – from more than 160,000 sq ft to 103,000 sq ft. Sophie Willson, commercial advisor and asset manager for the landlord, said: “The works proposed to this magnificent building will deliver an exceptional workplace for its future occupiers providing sustainable, high-quality and flexible office accommodation benefiting from excellent natural light and impressive floor to ceiling heights as well as fabulous amenity facilities ranging from atrium café, roof top restaurant and terrace, a gym, a large ‘opportunity space’ (flexibly design to facilitate a range of uses including housing conference/ events) and generous end of journey bike storage, showers, locker facilities.”

Lambeth

Construction Enquirer reports that Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is starting market engagement with contractors ahead of retendering its new landmark Evelina London Children’s Hospital extension. The planned 290,000 sq ft hospital building is to be rebid after the Trust and pre-construction services agreement contractor Bouygues agreed to part company on amicable terms. The Trust is now asking interested firms to register before inviting tenders in March for the integrated £250m main shell and fit-out contract. Previously Bouygues UK was in line to just deliver the shell and core for the new hospital extension. Trust procurement chiefs said the change of scope required a fresh procurement competition. The Trust now hopes to start construction by the end of next year.

Southwark

Property Week reveals that the legal battle between Tate Modern and residents of a nearby residential tower will be heard in the Supreme Court tomorrow. In Neo Bankside residents v Tate Modern, the occupiers argue that their privacy is being impinged upon by the viewing platform at Tate Modern. Legal experts argue that a result in favour of the residents could set a legal precedent and result in many more court cases. The residents, who have lost twice in the High Court in 2019 and Court of Appeal last year, argue that “hundreds of thousands of visitors” are able to look into their homes from the viewing platform installed by the Tate in 2016, which is 34 metres away.

Construction Enquirer reports that the London Borough of Southwark is looking for four contractors to deliver a major programme of housing improvements and compliance work for its council estates in south London. It has broken the upgrade plan into the four contract areas: Borough and Bankside/Walworth, Rotherhithe/Bermondsey, Camberwell/Peckham, Nunhead and Peckham Rye/Dulwich. Shortlisted firms will be invited to submit tender in April.

Westminster

Property Week reports that the Weston Group has reportedly agreed to sell Selfridges to Thailand-based investment firm Central Group. The billionaire family, who have owned the luxury department store for almost 18 years, are said to have agreed terms with Central Group and hope to close the deal by the end of the year. The group had been seeking offers of £4bn for the department store portfolio.  Jonathan De Mello, equity partner at CWM, said: “A £4bn sale price seems fair, considering that it would encompass the group’s Irish, Dutch and Canadian assets, and assuming Central hold and invest in the business over a long period. Pre-Covid, CWM’s valuation of Selfridges Group was circa £3.6bn – dropping to £2.5bn post Covid. We forecast this to rise to £3.9bn by 2025 on a ‘do nothing’ basis; ie: if the group does not invest in further locations etc.”

Property Week reports that Shaftesbury has signed over 60 new retail, hospitality and leisure brands in Carnaby, Seven Dials, Chinatown, Soho and Fitzrovia since 1 October 2020.  Some 33 new retailers have joined Shaftesbury’s villages, of which 23 were brands making their debuts in the UK, including six from the US: LIDS, NBA, American Eagle and Aerie, Third Man Records and Gilly Hicks.

General 

Property Week reports that investment flows into the Central London office market has hit £2.2bn since the beginning of October, according to research from Knight Frank. US investors were responsible for 47% of investment deals – or £1bn – followed by UK investors who accounted for 29% (£638m) and South East Asian investors comprising 11% of total volumes at £242m. This follows a busy Q3 for the investment market, which saw £3.8bn in turnover in line with long-term average levels. Office demand saw 72.8% of take up concentrated within the prime office market which consists of new or recently refurbished stock. This has led to rents in the core markets being driven up.