This Week's Europe Deal Sheet

UK

Mitsui Fudosan UK and development partner Stanhope confirmed three office lettings comprising over 90K SF at Angel Court:

• Bupa, the international health and care company, signed for 56K SF on a 15-year term on Angel Court’s lower floors. Bupa will move its global headquarters to Angel Court from its existing premises in Holborn, London, by the end of the year. 
• A new financial services trade association, which will bring together six member organisations from across the UK, completed a deal for 25K SF on the building’s fifth floor. As yet unnamed, the new trade body will bring together the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), British Bankers’ Association (BBA), Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK), Payments UK and the UK Cards Association (UKCA). The merger is an expansion of last year’s deal to bring together BBA, Payments UK, CML and UKCA and will be officially launched over the summer. Benefiting from the building’s unique location in the heart of London’s financial district and next to the Bank of England, the new trade association is expected to move into Angel Court in July.
• Chinese commercial bank Shanghai Pudong Development Bank signed for 9K SF on a 10-year term at Angel Court. The bank has taken the entire 19th floor, which forms one of the building’s 18 upper "sky floors", and boasts uninterrupted 360-degree views of the London skyline.

Apart-hotels operator Go Native secured the design and development consultancy for Kampus, a 550-unit scheme in Manchester, as well as an appointment to operate Howick Place, SW1, one of CBRE Global Investors’ largest build-to-rent investments in London.

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Circle Property secured planning permission for a change of use on the ground floor of Somerset House, Temple Street in Birmingham’s central business district, from offices to A3 restaurant in the first half of the year. Circle has agreed on a 20-year lease with the popular Latin American restaurant Las Iguanas, at a rent of £220K/year. The developer is also near completion of its refurbishment programme at 36 Great Charles St., Birmingham.

M&G Real Estate acquired the 150-year ground lease of the Marriott Courtyard hotel at Baxter’s Place in Edinburgh for £23M. The 240-room Courtyard Edinburgh is developed across three original Category A listed Georgian townhouses with a modern extension to the rear. Facilities include meeting rooms, a fitness centre and an all-day brasserie, as well as free, high-speed WiFi. It enjoys a city centre location next to the Edinburgh Playhouse and minutes from Princes Street, George Street and Waverley Station. Savills advised M&G Real Estate, and the Chris Stewart Group was advised by Knight Frank.

Capital & Regional submitted a planning application for a significant retail extension, residential development and new Town Square at The Mall Walthamstow. The company is seeking consent for an 86K SF retail extension at the shopping centre to accommodate up to 12 new retailers and five food and beverage operators. 

C&R is also seeking outline planning consent for up to 460 new homes, to be delivered with a development partner. They would be located above The Mall in keeping with Waltham Forest’s policy of encouraging residential development in the town centre.

The Alchemist has its 10th site in Chester City centre, having acquired a 21-year leasehold from Odysian Ltd. The Alchemist Chester will be in the Former Gin Rickey’s and Luke’s Eating House. The Alchemist plans to invest £1.1M into a refurbishment programme before the upscale cocktail establishment opens in July 2017.

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Henderson Park appointed Gijs Molenaar head of asset management. Henderson Park launched in September 2016, having raised $500M from three cornerstone investors, and has since acquired Paris’ largest hotel, Le Méridien Étoile, as well as a 172-unit PRS portfolio in Central London.

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CBRE hired international office market expert Peter Victor to lead its tenant representation and acquisition services for occupier clients across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Victor is joining CBRE from Cushman & Wakefield in London, where for the past 10 years he led the group’s EMEA cross-border tenant rep and agency leasing activities.