Great Portland Estates has acquired two central London offices for redevelopment for a total of £53m.
It has bought 141 Wardour Street, in Soho, for £39m (£1,156 per sq ft). The 33,717 sq ft building is currently vacant, has been stripped out and benefits from planning consent for a comprehensive refurbishment.
The building is located within a five-minute walk of the new Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station. The consented scheme will provide best-in-class office and restaurant accommodation arranged over lower ground, ground and six upper floors, with private terraces across the 4th to 6th floors and a communal roof terrace.
On completion of the refurbishment, the building will provide Fully Managed office space and net zero carbon commitments.
In addition, the company acquired Bramah House, 65/71 Bermondsey Street, for £14m from Canada Life Asset Management, reflecting a 5.9% net initial yield and a capital value of £892 per sq ft. The 15,696 sq ft freehold building is currently multi-let with a WAULT of 3.2 years to expiries. The property is located opposite the company’s existing ownership at Woolyard. Together, both buildings will create a Fully Managed campus on Bermondsey Street.
These buildings will add to GPE’s growing Flex office portfolio which, following the acquisitions of Gresse Street, W1 and St Andrew Street, EC4 last year, totals 414,000 sq ft.
Alexa Baden-Powell, senior investment manager, said: “141 Wardour Street is a fantastic opportunity to reposition an attractive Art Deco building in a core West End location into best-in-class Fully Managed space with excellent sustainability credentials. This acquisition, along with Bramah House in Bermondsey, is in line with our strategy to significantly increase our Flex offer over the next few years.”
GPE : Great Portland Estates buys two central London offices