This Week's London Deal Sheet
A weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond's biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email tim.clark@bisnow.com.
Real estate investment firm Long Harbour alongside PSP Investments and Cadillac Fairview have formed a joint venture to invest £260M into a 495-home development in Walthamstow.
The new town centre development forms part of the 17&Central shopping centre scheme, which will provide new homes for private rent that will be operated by Long Harbour’s residential management business.
Long Harbour recently acquired the site from Capital & Regional having exchanged contracts in December 2020 and has appointed Tide Construction to deliver the scheme.
The development will consist of 495 one- and two-bedroom apartments within two landmark towers of 34 and 27 storeys. The towers will be connected by an expansive ground-floor entrance and amenity space, including a publicly accessible reception with dedicated concierge, a lounge area and a ground-floor café.
The project aligns with the partnership’s ESG targets including use of low-carbon building materials and measurement of carbon footprints during the construction period. The building has been designed with an increased focus on customer wellness and will form part of the joint venture’s GRESB submission once operational.
DEALS
Alberta Investment Management Corporation and Ridgeback Group have acquired a portfolio of UK build-to-rent assets from Angelo Gordon for £283M.
The transaction, which nearly doubles the size of AIMCo and Ridgeback's UK BTR portfolio, places the joint venture among the largest UK BTR landlords, providing the opportunity to realise significant growth anticipated from this segment of the real estate market.
AIMCo and Ridgeback commenced their portfolio aggregation strategy in the second quarter of 2020 with the acquisition of five properties, totalling more than 1,650 apartments under construction in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. With the addition of these most recently acquired properties, AIMCo's UK BTR portfolio now comprises 10 city centre assets, with over 3,100 units.
FINANCE
Hong Kong-based international property firm C C Land Holdings has secured a £605M refinancing deal with HSBC for the iconic Cheesegrater tower in the City of London.
The refinancing incorporates international support from HSBC UK, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Bank of China (Hong Kong), UBS, Hang Seng Bank and The Bank of East Asia.
Officially named The Leadenhall Building, after its London location, the 225-metre-tall skyscraper was purchased by C C Land in 2017 for £1.15B, the second-biggest sale of a UK building at the time.
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Cohort Capital has agreed to a £19M refinancing deal for a new development in Knightsbridge.
The specialist lender has agreed the 70% loan-to-value deal on a 9.5K SF Edwardian house adjacent to Park Lane at 9% per annum for a private client. According to Cohort the high net worth borrower required the funds in a short space of time following unexpected cost overruns on a separate luxury development in the same borough.
DEVELOPMENT
Cheyne Capital is to go ahead with a £140M scheme near the Grand Union Canal in Westminster. The developer has appointed McAleer & Rushe for the redevelopment of the former London Taxi Drivers’ Association HQ in Westminster, delivering 332 modern co-living rooms featuring amenities such as a well-being centre, a swimming pool and a cinema.
Key to the development is the high-quality space dedicated to community groups and businesses 11.8K SF of workspace specifically designed for SMEs, small startups and craftspeople.
PEOPLE
Westwind Capital has appointed former Tristan Capital senior partner Mark Terry as its chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Founded by Daniel Gorzawski, the new real estate investment platform is targeting life sciences and living sectors.
Terry has 20 years of experience in finance and real estate investment. He will play an active role in capital raising, debt origination, investor reporting and portfolio management, as well as governance and compliance.
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Knight Frank has hired seven new staff to strengthen its project and building consultancy team.
Callum Shooter will work closely with the team as an associate director, having held senior roles at Gleeds and BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Alongside Shooter, Omar Blake joins Knight Frank as a senior mechanical engineer. He joins from Enfield Council, where he spent seven years in mechanical engineering following previous roles in facilities compliance and property management.
Shooter and Blake will be joined at Knight Frank by five new graduate appointments. Jack Bishop, Paul Donnelly, Xamar Viana, Edward Bascombe and Tom Tombs are all currently final year students studying for a BSc in Building Surveying and will join in September this year.
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CBRE has made an additional hire to strengthen its life sciences team after snapping up Kevin Wood from Lambert Smith Hampton. Wood headed up LSH's Oxford office.
According to CBRE, Wood has advised on some of the largest Science Parks across the region, including Harwell Campus and Oxford Business Park, as well as working on deals in the office and industrial sectors.
