Weekly property news from the central London Boroughs

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

Central London

PW reports that Flexible workspace provider Knotel has signed new leases across six properties in central London totalling close to 60,000 sq ft of space.

City of London

PW reports that US insurance business the Reinsurance Group of America is under offer to take a floor of AXA Investment Management’s Twentytwo Bishopsgate. The UK arm of the business, currently based at 5 Aldermanbury Square, will occupy around 25,000 sq ft of the 1.4m sq ft tower. The 62-storey building is now more than 25% let. The first pre-let was made to Hiscox last August when the insurer signed for 75,000 sq ft.

City of Westminster

PW report The House of Commons has signed a lease for 53,000 sq ft of office space at Quadrum Global’s 21 Dartmouth Street, near the Houses of Parliament, on a 20-year term.

Kensington & Chelsea

PW reports that Chinese investor Cindat Capital Management is in advanced talks to buy Canary Wharf office building 30 South Colonnade from HNA Group. Real estate operating partner LS Estates, which has a track record of partnering with Asian investors, is understood to be working with Cindat on the acquisition. The price agreed is thought to be significantly less than the £215m HNA paid for the building in 2015. Property Week understands that the buyer is in early-stage talks with WeWork to take space in the 305,000 sq ft offi ce building. The current tenant, Thomson Reuters, is scheduled to move to nearby 5 Canada Square later this year ahead of a lease event in 2020.

Southwark

PW reports that Malaysian-backed, Jersey-registered company Black Pearl has appointed agents to find a funding partner to bring forward a £1bn mixed-use scheme on London’s South Bank. CBRE will advise on funding and delivery options for 18 Blackfriars, a mixed-use development with planning permission for a fivebuilding scheme. The project has an expected GDV of £1bn, making it one of the most valuable development opportunities in the UK.

Tower Hamlets

PW reports that Chinese investor Cindat Capital Management is in advanced talks to buy Canary Wharf office building 30 South Colonnade from HNA Group. Real estate operating partner LS Estates, which has a track record of partnering with Asian investors, is understood to be working with Cindat on the acquisition. The price agreed is thought to be significantly less than the £215m HNA paid for the building in 2015. Property Week understands that the buyer is in early-stage talks with WeWork to take space in the 305,000 sq ft office building. The current tenant, Thomson Reuters, is scheduled to move to nearby 5 Canada Square later this year ahead of a lease event in 2020.

PW reports that CLS has acquired 9 Prescot Street in Aldgate, London, for £53.85m. The seven-storey, 96,948 sq ft office building is fully let to four tenants.

EG reports a deal has been struck to sell one of the UK’s most recognised skyscrapers, the Citi Tower in Canary Wharf. US bank Citigroup, which itself holds the lease on the entire 1.2m sq ft building, has placed the asset at 25 Canada Square, E14, under offer. It was most recently valued by its current owner, AGC Equity Partners, at £1.2bn, but it is thought that a deal is likely to have been agreed at closer to £1.1bn, reflecting a yield of around 4.25%.

PW reports that The High Court has ruled in favour of Canary Wharf Group over its claim that Brexit does not amount to ‘frustration’ of the European Medicines Agency’s 25-year, £500m lease on the estate. Judge Marcus Smith said the EU agency remains obligated to honour the lease at 30 Churchill Place (pictured) even though it is relocating to Amsterdam. The EMA had argued that Brexit “frustrated” its 25-year lease, which has 21 years left to run – a legal term referring to an unforeseen event that changes the nature of the original agreement so drastically that it would be unfair to hold both parties to the contract. Sir George Iacobescu.