Weekly property news from the Central London Boroughs

A weekly round up of the latest property news from the Central London Boroughs

Camden

PW reports that the planning inspector rejected LifeCare Residences’ plans for
a £97m scheme comprising 81 ‘extra care’ flats and 15 care home beds in Gondar Gardens in West Hampstead citing concerns about its impact on the environment and a lack of affordable housing provision.  This development is expected to have far-reaching implications for other developers.

Central London

PW reports that Central London office investment volumes fell by almost 40% in the first half of this year, according to JLL. It estimated H1 will see £5bn of investment in the capital compared with £8.1bn in H1 2018. Around a third of the sales have been to UK investors.

City of London

EG reports that WeWork have agreed to lease just under 46,000 sq ft at Acre Square, 133 Houndsditch, for its Headquarters brand, which offers personalised workspace. The property is owned by Madison International Realty and Nuveen and WeWork will occupy the fourth and part of the fifth floor on a ten-year lease.

City of Westminster

PW reports that Evercore is on the lookout for a new head office in central London to accommodate its fast-growing business. The US investment bank has appointed Colliers International to find between 75,000 sq ft and 100,000 sq ft of office space. Evercore has three Mayfair offices totalling around 66,000 sq ft. Market sources said that Evercore was considering moving out of the West End because of the limited supply of suitable office space.

Islington

PW reports that Marketing group Incubeta has let the 16th floor of Helical’s The Tower at Old Street. The building is the second phase of The Bower and is now more than 75% let to tenants including Travelex owner Finablr, luxury online retail platform Farfetch and WeWork.

Kensington & Chelsea

PW reports that Dominvs Group has acquired the Dutch government’s embassy site in Nine Elms with a view to developing a hotel there. The property company bought the one-acre vacant site next to the new £1bn US Embassy from the Dutch government. Outline planning consent is already in place for a hotel-led scheme. Dominvs director Jay Ahluwalia said the group was looking to revise the existing plans for a 150,000 sq ft hotel, which were drawn up by Ballymore in 2012 as part of its 15-acre regeneration scheme Embassy Gardens. Ahluwalia would not comment on the size of scheme the group intended to build but said “the site has real potential”.

EG reports that City & Docklands has acquired a new site, forming part of the wider Old Oak development, which will see development increase to around 1000 homes with an end value of £600m. It has boosted its numbers with the acquisition of £100m build-to-rent development at North Kensington Gate, west London.  The developer acquired the site with planning consent for a 164-home-scheme from Aurora Developments. North Kensington Gate will comprise three buildings of up to 22 storeys, with 8000 sq ft of ground-floor retail and commercial space.

Southwark

PW reports that FORE Partnership has partnered with Landid to redevelop a 1990s office building next to Tower Bridge. They plan to transform Tower Bridge Court, which FORE bought last year for £51m, into a 110,000 sq ft ‘service-driven’ workspace.

Wandsworth

PW reports that Cain International agreed to provide a £385m loan to fund the development of an 894-home build-to-rent scheme in Nine Elms. Greystar and Henderson Park have teamed up to acquire the site for £110m and Telford Homes has been appointed to build the scheme.