This Week's London Deal Sheet
The Deal Sheet is 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 mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
Fiera Real Estate UK, an affiliate of global investment manager Fiera Capital, has announced the second close of its Logistics Development Fund, taking the total amount of equity committed by investors to over £225M.
Investors in the fund are a mixture of local government pension schemes and pension funds from the U.S., Europe and Asia together with proprietary co-investment. The raise brings Fiera’s total value-add investment to over £1B in capital commitments across a range of real estate asset classes, the company said.
Fiera launched the fund in July 2022, and the portfolio of five assets will provide circa 400K SF of Grade A logistics space across 18 units when construction is complete, the company said.
The fund has a pipeline of five more sites under offer, and Fiera said that it is actively seeking additional opportunities. Investment requirements are for development sites of over 2 acres with the capability for small-to-mid-box logistics developments of up to 250K SF.
LEASING
IWG has taken the WeWork space at 12 Hammersmith Grove for its Spaces business. Spaces already occupies 42K SF at The Assembly in Hammersmith, while IWG's Regus brand also occupies space in Hammersmith.
Spelthorne Council bought the 171K SF 12 Hammersmith Grove in 2018 for £170M, and IWG said the move to the building reflected the need to meet rising demand for flexible workspace in London.
In August, IWG CEO and founder Mark Dixon said at a results update that the company had already taken on as many as 50 WeWork spaces and growth is focused outside central London, including in Hammersmith, Battersea, Ealing, Epping Forest, Finsbury Park, Teddington and Wandsworth.
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Orchard Street Investment Management has completed 77K SF of lettings to five occupiers at Gildersome Spur industrial estate in Leeds over the past 12 months, taking the prime warehouse facility to full occupancy.
The most recent lease was to Duftons Plumbing & Heating Supplies, which has agreed to take 10K SF on a 10-year lease. Duftons will join new occupiers including B&K Flooring, AHT Holdings, Panel UK, and Kingfisher UPVC Windows and Doors.
The refurbishment of five units was delivered to improve the Energy Performance Certificates ratings of each unit, including air-source heat pumps, LED lighting, electric vehicle charging points and the installation of rooftop solar panels.
Gildersome Spur comprises circa 500K SF of industrial and warehouse accommodation spread across 27 units and is located 7 miles from Leeds city centre.
INVESTMENT
Barings has completed the sale of Haslemere Industrial Estate to real estate private equity investor Westbrook for £12.75M.
Barings acquired the estate in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, on behalf of a UK-based private pension fund client in January 2016. The 74.5K SF property comprises 13 units ranging from 3K SF to 14K SF, 12 of which are let to 10 tenants, with the final one under offer.
Knight Frank acted on behalf of Barings.
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Hines has acquired a portfolio of four multi-let industrial estates in the West Midlands on behalf of its Hines European Value Fund 2 from LondonMetric Property.
LondonMetric valued the sale at £40.5M, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.2%.
The four estates comprise a 47-unit mix of light industrial, trade and mid-box warehousing totalling 434K SF that generates £2.7M per annum of rental income, with an average lease to first break of 2.9 years. Three of the estates are close to Birmingham city centre (Kingshill, Redwood Park and Shenstone), while the fourth is located in Rugby (Triton Park).
The properties were previously acquired as part of the Mucklow acquisition in June 2019, and LondonMetric has now disposed of £194M of former Mucklow assets, equating to 35% of the original portfolio.
“We see the UK industrial and logistics marketplace as one of the best examples in Europe of the sector’s strong fundamentals, with significantly adjusted entry pricing,” HEVF 2 Fund Manager Paul White said in a statement. “This latest transaction reflects our conviction in the vital importance of the small to mid-box industrial and logistics property market.”
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Southwark Council granted permission on Wednesday for detailed designs at Canada Water Dockside.
Art-Invest Real Estate’s circa 1.5M SF scheme in Canada Water on a 4.5-acre site sits next to Canada Water station, the dock’s waterfront and alongside British Land’s 53-acre neighbourhood regeneration.
It will include a new workspace hub offering Grade A buildings with new places to eat, drink and relax fronting the water’s edge, surrounded by 130 acres of open green space, the company said.
The reserved matters applications approved by Southwark Council include the detailed plans for two commercially led buildings designed by architects Bjarke Ingels Group and HWKN Architecture, plus new public realm from Townshend Landscape Architects.
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The London borough of Islington has granted permission for the retrofit and extension of a 1990s office building near London’s Old Street Junction. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates for Endurance Land, 99 City Road will provide workspace within a 35-storey landmark building, alongside significant improvements to the public realm, Endurance Land said.
The majority of the existing building’s structure will be retained, including the foundations and basement, while the project will create nearly 700K SF of new workspace.
