What was The Buzz in October?
Our monthly roundup of real estate industry news.
Here are a few of the stories that caught our attention in October. From new CRE platform launches, growing portfolios by flex brands, and a £430 million development plan for the West End, there’s plenty of progress happening in the UK commercial real estate sector.
Aware Super launches £1bn UK property platform with Delancey
Australian industry superannuation fund Aware Super and Delancey Real Estate have extended their partnership by forming a UK property joint venture to invest up to £1bn (€1.2bn). The venture will initially focus on prime Central London office properties, taking advantage of increased demand and “significant structural and regulatory change in the market and its repricing”.
The new partnership will also explore opportunities in high-quality retail, logistics and mixed-use properties that are currently undervalued. The pair said the venture has the potential to acquire stabilised assets, fund development projects and facilitate the recapitalisation of existing capital structures.
The latest venture expands an existing partnership between Aware Super and Delancey, which includes Aware Super’s 22% ownership in Get Living, a UK build-to-rent developer founded by Delancey.
Damien Webb, Aware Super’s head of international and deputy CIO, said that, since opening Aware Super’s first international office in London in November 2023, “we have been encouraged by the growing strength of the UK economy”.
Jamie Ritblat, founder and chairman of Delancey, said: “Expanding our relationship with Aware Super strengthens our partnership, combining the expertise and track records of both firms, with the capital and capability to execute. This underlines our status as a trusted partner for institutional investors looking to access opportunities in UK real estate.
x+why to launch workspace in former SW London department store
Pioneering workspace provider x+why has announced plans to open a new location in the historic Arding & Hobbs building in Clapham Junction. Partnering with B Corp property specialists W.RE, the space will be a bold revitalisation of the former Edwardian department store, transforming the landmark into a vibrant community hub for work, socialising, and events.
Slated for a Spring/Summer 2025 opening, the new x+why site is located just steps from Clapham Junction station, making it a well-connected destination for South London’s professional community. Joining other high-profile tenants, including Third Space, Prezzemolo & Vitale, and Botanica Hall by Albion & East, x+why will not only occupy the building’s expansive third floor but will also operate an array of state-of-the-art amenities.
The 27,500 sq ft workspace will offer a range of flexible office options, including private offices, dedicated desks, and day rooms, along with meeting rooms and event spaces. A rooftop terrace will enhance the experience for members looking for a dynamic, hospitality-led workspace environment that blends work and leisure.
Additionally, x+why is bringing its signature clubspace concept to this location, a hospitality-driven members’ lounge with exclusive amenities. Details on founding membership packages and unique features of the clubspace are expected to be released soon.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with fellow B Corp property specialists W.RE to breathe new life and vibrancy into this historic space”, said the x+why team. “A former Edwardian department store, the incredible Arding & Hobbs building at Clapham Junction is soon becoming a vibrant hub for work, socialising and community, a space designed to make your working day, evening or weekend, better and brighter.”
Great Portland Estates plc (GPE) is delighted to announce it has exchanged on the acquisition of 19/23 Wells Street, W1, for £19 million (£991 per sq ft), from British Land plc. Located in the heart of Fitzrovia, the 19,182 sq ft building comprises basement, ground and five upper floors. GPE intends to convert the space to its Fully Managed offer, together with transforming the ground floor space to deliver best-in-class amenity for its customers.
The building is within walking distance of a number of GPE’s existing holdings, including wells&more, Elsley House, Kent House and 7/15 Gresse Street and will add to a growing cluster of GPE Fully Managed buildings in Fitzrovia.
Investment Manager, James Harrop-Griffiths, said: “We are excited to announce our acquisition of 19/23 Wells Street. This is our second Fully Managed deal within the West End during the last six months. The building offers an excellent opportunity for us to enhance our cluster of properties in this vibrant area, enabling us to deliver a diverse range of workspaces for our customers, all accompanied by exceptional levels of customer service.”
JLL launches commercial property AI platform, JLL Falcon
JLL has announced the launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) platform, JLL Falcon, designed to accelerate the digital transformation of the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. The new platform is a cutting-edge set of AI-enabled software services that combines JLL’s vast and comprehensive proprietary data with generative AI models to deliver timely, revenue-generating and cost-saving insights, as well as maximise returns. This revolutionary platform for the CRE industry will chart the future course for JLL’s AI journey.
“JLL Falcon will serve as the foundation for the continued innovation of products and services that help shape the CRE industry,” said Mihir Shah, CEO, JLL Technologies. “The platform combines JLL’s extensive expertise with some of the most advanced technology available today, transforming how we work and paving the way to deliver enhanced outcomes for the benefit of our people and our clients.”
Featuring multi-modal AI foundation models, data pipelines, security and privacy features, natural language and semantic processing layers and advanced analytics capabilities, JLL Falcon will power a wide range of CRE applications, including custom assistants. Additionally, the platform’s open architecture seamlessly blends best-in-class internal and external technologies to streamline JLL’s approach to researching opportunities, extracting and analyzing complex data and delivering trustworthy, actionable insights.
Crown Estate to develop 251,000 sq ft of London West End space
The Crown Estate has unveiled details of its pipeline of developments in London’s West End. The three projects, which have a Gross Development Value of over £430 million, will deliver 251,000 sq ft of office, leisure and retail space in the heart of the Capital.
Amongst the three developments is New Zealand House – the landmark Grade II listed building at the southern gateway to Haymarket, the Arts Quarter and St James’s Market.
Opened in 1963, the modernist landmark served as a symbol of the New Zealand Government’s post-Second World War commitment to the United Kingdom, and as a home-away-from-home for New Zealanders overseas. It featured ample office space, a state to which it will return when the retrofit works are complete, with the New Zealand High Commission returning to take substantial space in the building, including in the podium and the top floors.
In total, the construction phase is anticipated to use less embodied carbon than The Crown Estate’s ambitious target of 400kgCO2/m2 across its development portfolio.
The works, which are already underway, also include the restoration and refurbishment of the Grade I listed Royal Opera Arcade. Designed by John Nash and George Repton and completed between 1816 and 1818, it is considered to be London’s oldest existing shopping arcade having survived a fire and the Blitz. Its vaulted roof, circular skylights and protruding quadrant-cornered shopfronts lining the passageway were influenced by Parisian arcades, whilst its overall layout and covered shopping concept paved the way for future arcades in the Capital.
