Derwent London plc has let 16,150 sq ft on the ninth and tenth floors at 1 Stephen Street, London W1 to AnaCap Financial Partners (“AnaCap”), a private equity firm specialising in the European financial services sector. They will be taking a 10-year lease with no breaks at an initial rent in excess of £80 per sq ft, equivalent to £1.3m pa. There is a minimum uplift on review at year five and there is a rent free period in line with current market practice.
Derwent London acquired 1-2 Stephen Street in mid-2010 and has now completed and let the first two phases of its office refurbishment programme totalling 103,450 sq ft at a rent of £6.6m pa. In addition to AnaCap, newly refurbished space has been let to BrandOpus, Freud Communications, The Office Group and existing major occupier FremantleMedia, all of which was let within six months of practical completion. A further 10,900 sq ft of offices on the eighth floor have just been taken back for refurbishment. On completion we will have refurbished 53% of the building’s office space.
We are due to complete the refurbishment of Tottenham Court Walk next quarter. This is the redevelopment of the Tottenham Court Road frontage of the property to provide 38,000 sq ft of retail and restaurants.
At the time of our annual results statement published on 26 February 2015 we reported that we had let £5.9m pa of space year to date, and that we had £2.1m of rent under offer. Adjusting for the AnaCap lease we will have let £7.2m in the year to date.
John Burns, Chief Executive Officer of Derwent London, commented:
“We are delighted to welcome AnaCap to 1-2 Stephen Street. They join a vibrant group of office occupiers that have helped reposition our investment. The property’s location will be further enhanced when Tottenham Court Walk completes in the next few months. This letting demonstrates the continuing strength of our markets.”