According to Property Week, Derwent London has agreed to sell 19 Charterhouse Street for £54 million. The REIT sold the freehold interest in the 63,170 square foot office building to a Morgan Capital and BNF Capital-led family office. The London College of Accountancy currently occupies the building, which Derwent purchased for £41.3 million in 2013. The lease expires in 2025. The annual passing rent is £2.6m, and the sale price represents a 4.6% net initial yield to the purchaser and a capital value of £855/sq ft – a marginal discount to the book value in June 2022.
According to new City of London Corporation plans, Britain’s first 24/7 “zero-emission” street could be built in the Square Mile. In March 2020, Beech Street was closed to all gasoline and diesel vehicles for an 18-month experiment to drastically reduce levels of harmful nitrogen dioxide. The City of London Corporation is now consulting on proposals for a permanent ban on polluting vehicles except for deliveries, garbage collection, and carpark access, reversing one of the City’s most polluted streets. Graham Packham, Chairman of the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee, stated that “radical action” was required to restore air quality in the area. The Corporation is also collaborating with Islington Council on plans to reduce traffic and pollution in Bunhill, Barbican, and Golden Lane.
According to the Architect’s Journal, designs for the £1.5 billion revamp of Liverpool Street Station have been revealed. A second public consultation has been launched on Network Rail and developer Sellar’s proposals for two new connected towers above an overhauled station. The proposed buildings are 21 and 15 storeys tall, respectively, and would add 17,651 square meters of hotel space and 78,038 square meters of office space to the Andaz. Heritage groups had previously expressed concerns about the plans after they were revealed in October, with Historic England later expanding the station’s listings to include the 1990s elements impacted by the new towers. Sellar CEO James Sellar stated that the proposals would “enable the £450 million vital station upgrades at no cost to taxpayer passengers.”
