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.
Legal & General has signed a 15-year lease to occupy 60% of the Woolgate building in the City in a deal that will see L&G relocate its HQ from nearby One Coleman Street.
L&G will take a total of 190K SF across the fourth through eighth levels, with its own dedicated entrance and reception area off Coleman Street. The space will also offer entertainment space for clients, 15K SF of private terraces and a 4K SF communal roof terrace.
Taiwanese life insurance giant Cathay Life Insurance Company is the ultimate beneficial owner of the Woolgate Exchange Unit Trust, responsible for the redevelopment of Woolgate, along with Stanhope, which represents the first project of its kind by a Taiwanese insurance company in the UK, the companies said.
The refurbished building will provide a total of 320K SF of workspace, 8K SF of space for food and beverage operators, and ground-floor public realm on Basinghall Street and Coleman Street.
L&G’s move is scheduled for 2027, following the completion of the fit-out of the space, and the deal leaves 136K SF of the building left to let.
DEALS
Segro and Tritax Eurobox have confirmed that they have reached a £552M agreement on the terms of a recommended all-share offer by Segro for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Tritax Eurobox.
The deal represents a premium of 27% to the closing price of Tritax Eurobox shares as of 31 May, the last business day before the offer period. The transaction values Tritax Eurobox’s entire issued and to-be-issued ordinary share capital at approximately £552M, with an enterprise value of approximately £1.1B.
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LondonMetric Property said that it has transacted on £70M of warehouse acquisitions and £50M of noncore disposals.
The acquisitions consist of seven warehouses with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 15 years acquired at a blended net initial yield of 5.8%. They comprise a 182K SF regional logistics warehouse in Avonmouth let to Farmfoods, a 211K SF fully let urban logistics park in Wednesbury, and five trade warehouses in Leeds, Derby, Swindon, Bolton and Farnham totalling 113K SF.
The £50M of disposals consist of 10 former LXi assets and a former CT Property Trust asset that have been sold at a blended NIY of 7.2%.
“We have been very clear on our desire to monetise some assets acquired from our corporate takeovers. We have now sold circa £100M of LXi assets, with 13 of the 16 non-core CTPT assets also sold at an average of 14% above our original underwrite values,” LondonMetric CEO Andrew Jones said in a statement. “We have successfully reinvested these proceeds into high quality properties, in stronger sectors that will deliver accelerated income growth.”
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KKR and Mirastar, KKR Real Estate’s industrial and logistics platform in Europe, have completed the off-market acquisition of a prime UK logistics portfolio from PLP for £110M, totalling circa 890K SF across five assets.
The portfolio is 80% let with a weighted average lease term to break of 10 years. Assets are in Salford, Liverpool, Crewe, Sheffield and Smithywood.
Over the last eight years, the assets have been developed, owned and managed by PLP and its flagship investment vehicle, the PLP UK Logistics Venture 1, which is owned by majority investor Ivanhoé Cambridge, alongside The Peel Group, Macquarie Asset Management and PLP senior management.
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UK-focused social infrastructure real estate investment manager Newcore Capital has acquired the investment long leasehold interest in the Welcome Break motorway service area at South Mimms, which houses the UK's largest electric vehicle hub.
The 11-acre MSA is at the junction of the M25 and A1(M) and features 70K SF across the amenity building, restaurants and hotel. The property is let to Welcome Break until 2036 with passing rent of £1.6M per annum. The rent is structured as ground rent and is subject to open-market review in February 2026.
The asset was purchased on behalf of Newcore’s latest value-add fund, Newcore Strategic Situations V, which reached a final close at £190M of equity commitments in May last year and is still in the investment phase.
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Madison International Realty has acquired an 18.7% stake in the Heitman European Residential Investment Partners fund, which comprises residential rental units in Western Europe with a particular focus on Germany and the Netherlands.
“The residential sector in Germany and the Netherlands is highly attractive, especially around major conurbations, where the demand for quality rental homes continues to significantly outstrip supply,” Madison Managing Director and Head of European Investments Alex Lukesch said in a statement. “Secondary transactions have always been central to Madison’s DNA.”
Madison was advised by Norton Rose Fulbright, CBRE and EY.
FOR SALE
Canadian asset manager Brookfield has put Citypoint tower up for sale as it looks to avoid a default on a £460M loan secured on the building, which it previously extended in January 2023 for 12 months.
The company is seeking circa £500M for the 36-story building after initially acquiring a stake in the tower for £106M in 2014. It subsequently acquired the whole property in 2016 and has since invested £40M in upgrades and increased occupancy to 82%.
Tenants include Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Simmons & Simmons.
LEASING
De Montfort University has signed at LaSalle Investment Management and Trilogy Real Estate’s education and innovation campus in East London called The Amp.
DMU will occupy 18K SF, taking The Amp’s total building occupancy to 83% after opening last September.
Located at 41–71 Commercial Road in Aldgate, tenants include Nottingham Trent’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, Access Creative College and London College of Contemporary Arts.
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Avison Young has selected Lazari’s The Met Building in Fitzrovia for its new UK headquarters, with the global real estate adviser agreeing to take 37K SF of the newly retrofitted workspace across three floors.
The 11-storey building comprises a podium and tower, and owner Lazari said the design was inspired by the Lever building in New York. The tower is fully let to tenants including Cadillac Fairview, Aggregate Industries, GML Capital, Select Equity and Lapithus.
PEOPLE
Purpose-built student accommodation and living units specialist Scape Group has appointed Martijn Vos as CEO of Europe for its flagship brands, Scape and Morro.
Vos has nearly 20 years of experience in real estate investment and will lead Scape Group’s European investment activities, focusing on new student accommodation and co-living investments. He joins from Abu Dhabi Investment Council, where he served as head of real estate for Europe.
