Billions of pounds of of West End offices have been brought to market in a pre-summer flurry, while well over £1 billion pounds worth is under offer, pointing to a bumper period of investment activity.
BC Partners is understood to have appointed JLL and RX London to sell Wingate House, the multilet office home of the Curzon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue in London theatreland, with a guide price of £80 million expected to be attached.
Blue Coast Capital has appointed JLL to sell 30 Cleveland Street seeking £70 million or a 4.25% net initial yield. The 40,000-square-foot building is the European headquarters of Take-Two Interactive Software, the US developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment which is behind Rockstar Games, which produces the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Separately, Westbrook is understood to have appointed Knight Frank to sell Arthur Stanley House in Fitzrovia, a 50,000-square-foot redevelopment of a former hospital. KF is understood to be marketing the opportunity seeking £115 million.
Berkeley Estate Asset Management, the London-based real estate investment manager, has appointed Colliers and Hanover Green to sell 16 Berkeley Street, a circa 40,000-square-foot multilet office in prime Mayfair, for around £78.5 million.
As reported last week, TPG Angelo Gordon and Beltane have formally put Marylebone Place in London up for sale, seeking £145 million, with Michael Elliott and CBRE advising. Beltane and TPG Angelo Gordon completed the letting of all 75,000 square feet of offices to Swiss bank UBP last year, on a 10-year lease. Union Bancaire Privée is one of the largest private banks in Switzerland.
In addition, Schroders is seeking a buyer for a consented office development opportunity in London's West End. Allsop has been appointed on the site, the former UK head office of marketing and sales company Omnicom, close to Tottenham Court Road.
Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund gained consent in 2023 to redevelop Minerva House, Fitzroy House and Telephone Exchange, three interlinked office buildings on Chenies Street in Bloomsbury, into a 106,736-square-foot workspace renamed North Crescent. The scheme adds 37% to the floor area, building another two floors and a roof terrace. It is thought the development opportunity would sell for in excess of £70 million.
Elsewhere, Topland has appointed JLL and Knight Frank to sell 1-3 Upper James Street, a 26,285-square foot, office over lower ground, ground, and five upper floors fronting on to Beak Street and Upper James Street. The offices are single-let to Phonographic Performance until 2030 at a rent of around £68.83 per square foot. A guide price of around £35 million has been attached, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.01%.
Derwent London is also marketing 90 Tottenham Court Road, a 45,000-square-foot office in Fitzrovia, as it continues with a significant disposals programme.
Elsewhere, Emperor International Holdings has appointed Michael Elliott on the sale of Ampersand, Activision Blizzard's offices at 180 Wardour Street in Soho, and has been seeking £205 million or a 4.95% yield. Bids are understood to have been received last week.
And Crosstree, advised by CBRE and Knight Frank, is seeking around £150 million for One Twenty King's Road, Liberty Global's 82,000-square-foot offices home in Chelsea.
Further afield, Kennedy Wilson has appointed JLL to sell One Embassy Gardens in London's Nine Elms, the 156,000-square-foot home of publisher Penguin Random House, seeking £138 million.
Finally, Landsec, advised by Savills, alongside investment bank Lazard, has called bids on the freehold of Lucent, its one-acre island site at London’s famous Piccadilly Circus, including newly developed offices, shops and the land beneath the Piccadilly Lights – the London video billboard landmark – with a guide price of £450 million attached. This would be the largest single sale in London's West End since 2012.
Under offers underway
A number of major assets have gone under offer recently, or changed hands, in evidence of the market still functioning following the start of the war in Iran.
Oval Real Estate is understood to be under offer to buy 10 Stratton Street for around £95 million. JLL and Savills have been advising Hong Kong group Joint Treasure on the sale. The building is leased at an average passing rent of £90 per square foot, which is significantly reversionary in an area where rents have been secured at more than £200 per square foot. It represents a core-plus investment with the opportunity to drive value through active asset management.
A Czech billionaire-backed investment group has edged ahead in the bidding to buy 1 St James's Square, one of London’s most prime offices. KKCG, the investment group controlled by billionaire Karel Komárek, is understood to have bid around £282 million alongside development manager YardNine. JLL and CBRE are advising the owner Hong Kong-listed Lifestyle International Holdings. No agreement has yet been finalised. Other parties being linked to the acquisition are Pembroke and Sixth Street working with LBS Properties.
Landsec, advised by Colliers, has reportedly gone under offer to sell 123 Victoria Street for more than £210 million to SevenCitiesLDN, a SevenCapital venture, after talks to sell to US alternative asset manager Sculptor Capital Management and LBS Properties ended. The headquarters building is occupied by fashion brand Jimmy Choo and British International Investment. Green Street News revealed the talks for 123 Victoria Street and 1 St James's Square.
German investor Deka is due to exchange shortly on Stirling Square, 5-7 Carlton Gardens, St James's in London's West End for around £220 million. Tristan Capital Partners and Greycoat appointed Savills and Newmark to sell the building last year for offers above £227.5 million, which would reflect a net initial yield of 5% and a capital value of £2,431 per square foot.
CBRE Global Investors is also understood to be under offer to buy 72 Welbeck Street for around £150 million. JLL and RX London are advising the seller, BEAM.
The 113,768-square-foot headquarters building close to Bond Street Station has a topped-up passing rent of more than £7.7 million a year, reflecting £69.32 per square foot, with upcoming rent reviews in 2027 and 2028. It also has retail and 23 homes operated under a management agreement with Native Place.
Separately, Mitsubishi Estate, advised by Avison Young, is thought to have gone under offer to sell Clive House, at 68-70 Petty France, to a hotel operator planning a change of use from office.
In addition, strong bidding for the British Film Institute's home close to Tottenham Court Road has seen it go under offer for around 34% more than the asking price. The BFI, via Newmark, is selling 21-28 Stephen Street with a guide price of £26 million. Market sources said the building has attracted strong interest with a private Serbian investor now under offer at around £35 million.
The completion picture
On the completions front, Oval Real Estate, advised by JLL, recently finalised a market-moving transaction with the sale of the freehold interest in 14 St George Street for around £173 million, or a 3.4% net initial yield. The price reflects a capital value of around £3,400 per square foot. The buyer is understood to be a private Singaporean investor client of BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Finally, two trophy assets on Bond Street, London's most famous high-end retail thoroughfare, have also just traded for £154.5 million in total, as revealed by CoStar News.
The Henry Smith Charity, advised by RX London, is understood have sold 19-21 Old Bond Street, W1, Max Mara's retail flagship, for around £92 million, to a private investor.
And Tasaki's flagship store at 170 New Bond Street has sold for around £62.5 million. CBRE and Michael Elliott advised the private US owner with the price paid translating to a circa 3.25% yield.
The building comprises 4,198 square feet of retail leased to the Japanese fine jewellery group until June 2049. It opened the store, its first in Europe, in 2019. The asset is being bought by a private UK investor, with the vehicle behind the acquisition called Marlborough Property Ltd according to Land Registry filings. That company is linked to high street retailer Dunelm's founder and entrepreneur Sir William Adderley.
The West End office market traditionally sees a flurry of office sales launched in May, targeting high-net-worth individual investors that arrive in London to pick up children from boarding schools and take in the country's summer events programme including Wimbledon, the Henley Regatta and the Grand Prix. There have been concerns that this would stall in the face of investor concerns over the impact of the war in Iran on the global economy.