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.
MCR Hotels is set to acquire the BT Tower in London from BT Group and will repurpose it as a hotel while also granting public access.
Announcing the deal, MCR, the third-largest hotel owner-operator in the U.S., said it intends to partner with Camden-based Heatherwick Studio to consider how best to reimagine the future of the Grade II-listed tower as a hotel.
BT Group is expected to take several years to vacate the premises because of the complexity in relocating the technical equipment within the building, during which time MCR will develop and consult on its proposals for the tower.
MCR owns and operates a number of New York hotels, including The High Line Hotel and the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. It is also redeveloping the Gramercy Park Hotel.
“We see many parallels between the TWA Hotel and the BT Tower,” MCR CEO Tyler Morse said in a statement. “Both are world-renowned, groundbreaking pieces of architecture. It’s been a privilege to adapt the TWA Flight Center into new use for future generations, as it will be the BT Tower.”
DEALS
Abrdn has invested £110M on behalf of Phoenix and £13M on behalf of its Index-Linked Infrastructure Debt Fund in West Slope Residencies Finance, a partnership between the University of Sussex and Balfour Beatty Investments.
The West Slope accommodation project will create 1,900 new student rooms on the University’s campus in Falmer, Brighton, which will be built over three phases adjacent to the East Slope project, in which Abrdn is also an investor.
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Royal London Asset Management Property has partnered with Graftongate to acquire the 24-acre Abbey Works site in Fareham, south England, from Eaton.
Announcing the deal, Royal London Asset Management Property said it is targeting other such opportunities in 2024.
Royal London Asset Management Property and Graftongate were represented by DTRE and Pinsent Masons. Eaton was represented by CBRE and Eversheds Sutherland.
FUNDING
Leumi UK and Delancey Real Estate have agreed to a £47M loan with Core Plus Fund CCP IV, advised by Tristan Capital Partners, to refinance One Stratford Place.
The 127K SF BREEAM Excellent office asset is part of the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre in east London, and Leumi UK provided a £30M loan to Tristan, with Delancey Real Estate providing a further £17M of mezzanine debt via its dedicated credit fund.
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Outpost Management is to forward-fund the acquisition of a 462-unit residential-led development in North Acton, London, through its joint venture with BlackRock Private Markets, with developer and contractor Tide.
The North Acton development comprises a 32-storey, 220K SF mixed-use scheme designed by HTA Design, and the residential space will also include 18K SF of amenity space across five floors, while a new 3,500 SF pub will replace the previous establishment, The Castle, vacant since 2020.
The scheme will be operated by Outpost Management under its Enclave brand and is due to open in summer 2025. It is currently called The Castle and is the third asset to be acquired by the firm’s joint venture with BlackRock Private Markets.
The joint venture has invested £500M in UK residential assets and has committed another £500M.
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Dominus and Cheyne Capital Management have completed two development finance senior loans totalling circa £400M for two Dominus purpose-built student accommodation projects in the City of London.
The Holborn development, situated close to The London School of Economics and Political Science, Kings College London and Queen Mary University of London, will consist of 669 beds, with over 35% allocated to affordable accommodation.
A second loan will fund the development of 65 Crutched Friars, between Aldgate and Tower Hill, as a nearly 800-bed PBSA scheme, of which 35% will be affordable. The development will also provide three new floors and 30K SF for the Migration Museum.
The schemes will have a combined gross development value of circa £800M and will be developed and operated by Dominus, the companies said in the announcement.
DEVELOPMENT
McLaren Living has submitted a new planning application to Reading Borough Council for the redevelopment of Broad Street Mall.
The new plans build upon the previous consent, and the proposals include the redevelopment of the southern part of the 4.6-acre site to include over 600 affordable build-to-rent homes, circa 15K SF of office, retail and leisure space, and new public realm.
The three residential buildings will be located to the south of Broad Street Mall, with the revised master plan designed by AHR Architects.
LEASING
A new 21K SF flexible workspace called Link Spaces will open in March in Botanica, Ditton Park, near Slough. The new workspace brand is from Active Hospitality and will offer private offices, coworking spaces and meeting rooms on the ground floor of the Kennedy Wilson building.
The company also operates neighbouring Ditton Manor, which offers conferencing and meeting rooms, and plans to develop the building into a hotel.
