News

Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners have today completed the takeover of Docklands developer Canary Wharf Group pledging to plough ahead with the massive development pipeline.

The £2.6bn deal for Canary Wharf owner Songbird Estates prompted the new owners to underline their commitment to the existing management building programme.

Ric Clark, CEO of Brookfield Property Group, said: “Canary Wharf remains one of the most treasured property estates in the world.

“With the transaction now concluded, we look forward to working with QIA and the Canary Wharf Group management team to advance the substantial development pipeline and to realise the full potential of the site for our tenants, stakeholders and the people of London.”

Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Thani, CEO of QIA, said: “We are delighted that QIA and Brookfield have now concluded the acquisition of Songbird and Canary Wharf Group.

“We look forward to supporting the management’s strategy of pursuing further expansion through the creation of a sustainable, mixed development comprising offices, homes as well as retail and leisure space.”

Songbird’s shares will cease to trade on London’s AIM market from 23 April 2015.

Aerial view of Canary Wharf Estate once Wood Wharf is built out

The deal goes through as Canary Wharf Group is pressing ahead with plans to build out the last remaining sites with office and residential towers on its main Docklands Estate and gears up to start enabling works for the 4.9m sq ft Wood Wharf scheme to the east of its main site.

Canary Wharf is also set to start work shortly on the £1.2bn Shell Centre redevelopment on the South Bank in central London.

Berkeley Homes has gained planning for what will be the UK’s tallest residential building at a site in London Docklands.

The scheme will involve the demolition of a 1980s block on the South Quay Plaza site on the Isle of Dogs to build a 68-storey and 36-storey building.

The proposals, designed by architects Foster + Partners, have been dropped in height from the originally proposed 73 floors, which would have reached almost the height of One Canada Square.

London Mayor Boris Johnson wrote to Tower Hamlets late last month indicating he would not call in the scheme allowing final approval to be given.

The slender main tower will have a floor plate of two intersected squares, which maximises the views of London for each of the luxury flats. One part will rise to 68-storeys and a height of 220m and the other to 56 floors and be topped by a sky garden.

This will be built in phase one with the smaller twin building pushed into a second construction phase.

In total, 888 homes are planned in all, including 188 affordable properties.

Demolition contractors will clear the site at 183-189 Marsh Wall with construction expected to start in July next year running for nearly five years across the multi-phase site. Work on phase two will start in April 2018.

In total, the buildings will require around 65,000 cu m of concrete and 60,000 sq m of cladding.

The structural and M&E engineer on the job is WSP.

The tallest of the two towers will be built in phase one

Developer Canary Wharf Group has been granted full planning permission for 1 Bank Street and outline planning permission for 1 Park Place on its main docklands site in East London.

Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, 1 Bank Street is planned as a 700,000 sq ft building with 27 storeys including three levels of trading floors and shops at ground level. There will also be public access to a new promenade along the South Dock.

Site enabling works started earlier this year and construction is now scheduled to begin later this year.

Banking giant Société Générale has already agreed a lease for 280,000 sq ft of 1 Bank Street. It will occupy the ground and first to seventh floors on a 25 year lease at a rent of £47.50 per sq ft and 36 months’ rent free commencing from the summer of 2019.

Tower Hamlets Strategic Planning Committee also granted outline planning permission for the 1 Park Place scheme, a 31-storey office building at the vacant site next to West India Middle Dock.

Consent has been given for an office building comprised of up to just over 1m sq ft of floorspace.

The Council will now determine a reserved matters application for this office building which is designed by Squires & Partners but there are no immediate plans to develop this site.

It will be located next to CWG’s proposed Diamond Tower residential skyscraper and a new 185m tower at Herons Quay West.

Developer Dalian Wanda Group has awarded the main contract at the £900m One Nine Elms site to CI-ONE.

CI-ONE is a joint venture between Interserve and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC).

CSCEC is the largest construction group in China.

Wanda said it “believes that the combination of two of the world’s leading contractors for the construction of One Nine Elms will leverage both Interserve and CSCEC’s core capabilities, by using local subcontractor resources, human resources, site management and a global supply chain.

“The ground-breaking joint venture demonstrates Wanda’s commitment to delivering a world-class development of the highest possible specification.”

One Nine Elms is due for completion in late 2018.

Galliford Try has reached agreement with Frasers Property on the next phases of the Riverside Quarter residential development in Wandsworth.

Frasers has appointed Galliford Try to construct the next three phases of the project, worth £69m in total to the business.

The firm has already built earlier phases of the huge residential project overlooking the River Thames.

Phases 5C and 5D consist of two new blocks, which will include 99 apartments for sale and an additional 50 affordable homes.

Phase 6A will create a 13 storey block providing 51 new apartments for sale and 36 affordable homes together with additional commercial units and extensive landscaping, in a much sought after residential area in South West London.

Galliford Try Executive Chairman Greg Fitzgerald said: “Long-term relationships with valued clients are a key part of our construction strategy and we are delighted to have been able to reach agreement with Frasers to continue our partnership on such a prestigious residential development in a prime London location.”

Investment group Carlyle has sold it Bankside site on the south side of the Thames in London for a major cluster of residential towers.

The 1.4m sq ft scheme will see demolition to two major buildings next to Blackfriars Bridge to clear the way for nine buildings ranging from 5 to 48 storeys in height.

These will be split between 492 luxury apartments and 450,000 sq ft of offices and 25,000 sq ft of retail space, which were granted outline planning last year.

Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Hotel Properties, run by Singaporean tycoon Ong Ben Seng and Amcorp Properties, run by one of Malaysia’s richest men, have scooped up the site in a deal worth over £300m.

The bidders using Native Land as an investment vehicle have been in talks for several months and now plan to build the Bankside Quarter.

Alasdair Nicholls, Chief Executive of Native Land, said on behalf of the consortium: “The development of the Bankside Quarter will set the seal on London’s finest emerging location.

“By unblocking routes through this strategically important site as well as significantly enhancing the public realm the area will become even more popular for residents, businesses and visitors from across the globe.

“The project will also deliver much needed private and affordable housing in the borough, where there is a shortage of supply.

“The consortium which has been assembled to deliver the project represents the best in international development and funding expertise. We are confident that we can deliver a major new destination for London, adding to the strong foundations already laid in the Bankside area.”

Native Land intends to deliver the project in a series of phases, with the first phase including a 49-storey tower comprising 211 apartments fronting the River Thames.

The subsequent phase will deliver a Grade A office building, with later phases including the redevelopment of Sampson House, which is currently leased to IBM until 2025 but with a mutual break option in June 2018.

The tallest tower will stand opposite developer St George’s bevelled One Blackfriars tower, now under construction, to form a high-rise gateway on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge.

Enabling work on the 4.9m sq ft Wood Wharf scheme next to London’s Canary Wharf Estate will start in a matter of months thanks to a £200m government loan.

Under the terms of the deal, the Canary Wharf Group will use the loan to fund infrastructure needed to unlock the new phase of Canary Wharf – formerly called Wood Wharf – to the east of the present estate.

The development will deliver 3,500 homes, including 607 affordable homes, as well as 2.8m sq ft of offices, shops and leisure facilities in 30 new buildings.

Proposals have already got planning permission, so work will be able to start within months. Basic enabling works will include relocation and upgrading of utilities for the site.

Completion of the first phase of the plans will coincide with the arrival of Crossrail in 2018.

The centrepiece of the scheme will be a 57-storey cylindrical residential skyscraper facing the waters of South Dock, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss architects behind the Tate Modern and the “Bird’s Nest” Olympic stadium in Beijing.

Sir George Iacobescu CBE, chairman and chief executive officer of Canary Wharf Group said: “This crucial contribution by the Homes and Communities Agency, towards the infrastructure needed to underpin the next phase of Canary Wharf will enable the group to fulfil its ambition of creating one of the most exciting and vibrant places to live and work in London.

“This is just the type of targeted and practical assistance that our sector needs to help deal with the housing shortage in London.” he added.

Canary Wharf Group, will also be contributing in excess of £60m towards Crossrail and an additional £28m for other infrastructure needs.

This will include over £10m for local transport improvements, some of which will be used to improve the nearby Preston’s Road roundabout.

Westminster City Council has given the green light to the largest London School of Economics development project in its 120 year history.

The £120m Centre Buildings Redevelopment project is designed to create a new focus for the central London campus.

It will involve constructing 200,000 sq ft of academic buildings rising up to 14-storeys arranged around a public square.

The redevelopment involves the demolition of the existing LSE owned buildings along Houghton Street, known as Clare Market, The Anchorage, the East Building and part of St Clements.

Demolition is due to begin at the start of this year’s summer break with the building due to be completed in late 2018.

The contest for a main contractor will start shortly to appoint a firm early next year.

Director of Estates Julian Robinson said: “This is a major milestone in our ambitious programme of improving facilities and accommodation at LSE.  We are a world class university and the Centre Buildings Redevelopment will provide a new building and public spaces which will reflect this.  ”

Architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners designed the project. Their team includes ChapmanBDSP as MEP consultants, AKTII as structural engineers and Gillespies as landscape architects.  Turley are LSE’s planning consultants for the scheme with Deloitte as cost consultants.