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

Tower Hamlets 

Architects Journal reports that a 29,000m² build-to-rent scheme in Canary Wharf has been completed. 10 George Street, developed by Canary Wharf Group’s rental arm, Vertus, provides 327 homes, new retail spaces and shared amenities. The scheme, designed by GRID architects, is part of the Wood Wharf masterplan, the first of three planned build-to-rent developments.

Westminster

Westminster City Council has announced Bouygues UK has won a contract to design and build the first phase of the new Ebury Bridge Estate in Pimlico for the City Council. Bouygues UK is due to start work later this year and, subject to planning approval, commence building new homes in 2021.

EG reports that according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets predicts prime London officer rents in the City and West End could plummet this year. The team expects West End rents to drop by 27% this year and rise by 8% next year. The team added that a 27% decline in West End rents compares to a 32% drop between June 2008 and March 2009, and a 41% fall overall during the financial crisis.

General 

Property Week reports that industry charity LandAid has handed out over half-a-million pounds in emergency funding since the Covid-19 crisis began, hitting the milestone in the wake of an unprecedented volume of donations. Almost 20 household names in the real estate sector have dug deep to donate to LandAid’s appeal, which is aimed at providing quick relief to charities across Britain involved in helping young homeless people.

Property Week reports that Landsec has reported a pre-tax loss of £837m – almost seven times the £123m loss it made last year – and warned that the UK economy will not recover from the impact of Covid-19 until 2022. The landlord made the statement in its full-year results on Tuesday. The firm’s loan-to-value ratio rose from 27.1% to 30.7%, driven by a £1.2bn fall in the value of its assets.

Property Week reports that a number of ‘heavyweights’ across the residential sector has backed a campaign calling on the government to build 100,000 modularly-constructed affordable homes exclusively for keyworkers. The initiative is backed by the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, Legal & General, Cast Consultancy, Notting Hill Genesis and the British Property Federation.

EG reports that BCO has urged building owners, property managers and occupiers to collaborate more closely to reshape modern workplaces during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Suggestions in a recently published BCO paper to achieve this include the use of screens at reception; touchless toilet doors; an end to communal cultery and other kitchen items; as well limits to lift usage.

Property Week reports residential landlord Grainger has increased its interim dividend per share by 6%, as it reported a 27% increase in net income for the six months ending 31 March. The FTSE 250 firm saw a 3.4% like-for-like rental growth across its portfolio in the period, as well as rental growth in April of 3.3%, though pre-tax profit fell from £54.3m to £49.6m.

Property Week reports that Matt Smith has joined Shaftesbruy as the Head of Sustainability.  Matt joined from The Crown Estate, where he was the interim head of sustainability, and has spent eight years in sustainability roles.