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

City of London

EG reports that M&G is in discussion to acquire Fleet Place House for more than £10m from Beijing Capital Development Holding. Tenants in the 91,955 sq ft office building include law firm Bevan Brittan, Just Eat and Starbucks.

Property Week reports that Chinese real estate investor Poly Real Estate Group has withdrawn its City of London office block 5 Fleet Place from the market.  Guangzhou-based Poly Real Estate Group, a subsidiary of China’s state-owned China Poly Group, put the 130,000 sq ft freehold building on the market with JLL for around £182.5m in March. There were multiple bids from institutional investors and private investors but a deal could not be closed

EG reports that a fund managed by Credit Suisse Asset Management Global Real Estate has acquired Panther House, Farringdon, from Argo Real Estate, Investec and Dukelease. It is understood that Credit Suisse has paid around £36million for the site at 156-164 Gray’s Inn Road, which it plans to develop speculatively.

Lambeth 

Property Week reports that the real estate division of Intermediate Capital Group plc (ICG) has provided a £177m development loan to fund the construction of a 266,000 sq. ft mixed-use development on the South Bank in London. The development at Triptych Bankside comprises two residential towers, a low-rise office building, as well as retail and cultural facilities. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2022.

Tower Hamlets 

Architects Journal reports that Make’s design for two towers connected by ‘wishbones’ has been ditched as Apt unveils plans for a 49-storey tower on the same east London site. Apt is set to submit a planning application for a large student housing campus on behalf of Urbanest and University College London (UCL). A pre-planning application by the practice asks planners at Tower Hamlets Council to consider three towers standing at 24, 34 and 49 storeys tall.

Property Week reports that Hines is believed to be negotiating a £390m sale of 25 Cabot Square in Canary Wharf to the largest real estate investment trust in Asia, Link REIT. The Hong Kong investment trust is reportedly in talks with the US firm, the owner of the property known as The Cabot, to purchase the 455,000 sq ft building.

Westminster

The Times reports that Shaftesbury has warned shareholders that only a quarter of its tenants paid their rent in March. Shaftesbury wrote down the value of its portfolio by £300 million because of the hit from Covid-19 and amid concerns over how quickly workers will return to offices. The group said that it aimed to collect only 50 per cent of rents due from April to September “over time” and that it was in discussions with 800 commercial tenants to agree “solutions on rents and service charges”.

EG reports that The National Bank of Egypt is in talks to buy a Mayfair office block once owned by Malaysian financier Jho Low from the US Department of Justice for around £4m. It is understood to be planning to occupy the 16,523 sq ft offices at 8-9 Stratton Street.

General 

The Financial Times reports that Taylor Wimpey said the group was now seeing more “sustained demand” just weeks after the UK government released the country’s property market from lockdown.The group said its sales rate, visits to its website and customer appointments had all increased, in a sign that the market was slowly reviving after it was shut in April to help combat the spread of Covid-19.