EG LONDON SOUTH BANK INVESTMENT


P


eter Seller’s archetypical cabbie who would not go “sarf” of the river in the comedian’s 1958 sketch, would have found himself in good company. Until recently, that is. The parodied “verdant


grasslands of Battersea Park”


may still be off investors’ radars, but the central southern fringe further east – specifically the South Bank – no longer is. A slew of recent deals, while nowhere near the West End par, is transforming its badlands image into something much more fecund. Core investors, such as Deka Immobilien, have targeted the area, reflecting the location’s new appeal, driven by Irvine Sellar’s Shard. Mapeley’s 87,000 sq ft Dorset House office building on Stamford Street is reputedly under offer to Yemeni investors for £39m, a 5.5% yield. Colliers International’s head of West


End investment, Dominic Amey, says of investors generally: “They want to buy a building in Mayfair but when they realise the lack of opportunities and the pricing, they are prepared to look further afield.” Scottish Widows’ Rose Court at No 2 Southwark Bridge is on the market for £70m and went to best bids in the second week of April, with interest predominant from overseas investors. The 150,000 sq ft office is let for another five years to the Health & Safety Executive and reputedly receiving strong interest, according to Amey. Land Securities’ £35m,


97,000 sq ft office at 42 Southwark Bridge Road also went to bids around the same time, creating two new pieces of transactional evidence to further bolster the area as an investment location. However, the eight deals


£223m


Palestra Bought for £223m from Royal London in March


Banking on 76 www.estatesgazette.com 11 May 2013


growth


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19