29/06/2012

Legal & General Property (LGP) announces that it has achieved planning consent for the major refurbishment of 76 Wardour Street, London, W1, and appointed Morgan Sindall as the construction contractor.  

Having acquired the property in September 2011, LGP, in conjunction with its joint venture partner, Walbrook Land, has put together plans to carefully transform the existing office space, in order to deliver 33,000 sq ft of new Grade A accommodation over the upper five floors of the building in Q1 2013.  Work is due to start on site in July.  

On completion of the works, the new floor plates will range from 5,400 sq ft to 7,000 sq ft and will benefit from a triple aspect. The office space will be serviced by a new enlarged and prominent reception, with a high quality contemporary fit-out.  

The 1906 property occupies a prominent corner position between Wardour Street and Meard Street and was formally the headquarters of Pathe. The ground floor comprises three retail units which will continue to trade through the refurbishment of the five office floors above. The retail units are currently let to Wahaca, Hummus Brothers and Profile. 

Simon Wilkes, Head of Business Space Development at Legal & General Property, commented: "We are excited by the prospect of refurbishing to deliver a high quality building in the heart of the West End, especially given the limited supply in this market and wide ranging appeal of its location, which will be further enhanced as a result of Crossrail.  Having worked hard with our architects, the Council and local stakeholders, we feel confident that our redevelopment plans not only complement but exemplify the property's existing surroundings.  

Tim Stotesbury, Director of Walbrook Land, added: "Our redevelopment plans revitalise a tired historic vacant building transforming it into modern and sustainable office accommodation. There is real interest in the Soho area at present from a variety of occupiers and I am confident that our scheme will deliver exactly what these occupiers are seeking. We are delighted to be working with Legal & General on this project."

Peter Jacobs, Managing Director of Morgan Sindall in London, said: "We are delighted to have been  appointed as the principal contractor on this ambitious project. We are looking forward to working closely with Legal & General Property and Walbrook Land to deliver high-quality, contemporary office space in this famous and characterful area of London. 

"Morgan Sindall has extensive experience of working in busy urban locations on commercial projects. Our appointment to this development builds on the success of the major office development at 6 Agar Street in Covent Garden which we are about to complete for Legal & General Property." 

The architect for the project is EPR. DTZ and Edward Charles & Partners have been appointed as the joint letting agents for the office space.

Notes to editors

Legal & General Property (LGP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe's largest institutional asset managers and a major global investor. LGIM manages approximately £383bn of assets on behalf of more than 3,300 clients (31 March 2012) and provides products and solutions spanning all asset classes. LGP is the third largest institutional property fund manager in the UK, managing or co-managing 16 separate funds or vehicles and two segregated mandates with an aggregate asset value of £10.3bn as at 31 March 2012. 

These funds include:

Specialist Pooled Funds
The Leisure Fund Limited Partnership; Industrial Property Investment Fund; UK Logistics Fund; Arlington Business Parks Partnership; and the English Cities Fund
Single Asset Vehicles
Bracknell Regeneration Partnership; Central Saint Giles Partnership; Performance Retail Limited Partnership and Warrington Retail Limited Partnership
Balanced Funds
Life Fund; Linked Pensions; Linked Life; Managed Fund; Property Unit Trust; UK Property Income Fund; LPI Income Property Fund and the Hybrid Property Fund.

LGP's UK-focused fund management platform has built and retained a strong track record of out-performance across the sector. Owing to its size, diversity and penetration, it benefits from best in class banking and property industry contacts which, along with its wealth of in-house skill and expertise, have enabled it to continue to attract and secure high quality market opportunities. Taking a client-centric approach, the business places the highest priority upon integrity and transparency, leveraging upon the significant resources provided by the wider LGIM platform. Sector specialists cover each sphere of the market and are supported by LGP's market-leading research capability.

LGP's sector specialisms cross all facets of the real estate market. In particular, the Company has a major development platform, responsible for delivering the West End office market's latest landmark, Central Saint Giles, and currently involved in developing its high profile Covent Garden scheme, Agar Street, as well as significant town-centre retail regeneration projects, including Bracknell, Northampton and Eastbourne.

WALBROOK LAND:

Walbrook Land was formed in October 2006 by Tim Stotesbury to focus on development and refurbishment opportunities in the prime Central London area.

Walbrook Land's development programme amounts to over 200,000 sqft in Central London in six principal schemes: 103 Cannon Street, EC3; 155 Fenchurch Street EC3; 2 Copthall Avenue, EC2; 10 Lloyds Avenue, EC3; 20 Rathbone Place, W1 and 76 Wardour Street, W1.

Walbrook Land is backed by Palmer Capital. Walbrook Land will also use other capital partners to finance development and investment deals. Current joint venture partners include GE Capital Real Estate, Lothbury Investment Management and Legal and General.

For more information please contact:

Olivia Goodall
PR Consultant

t: + 44 (0) 203 124 2777
m: + 44 (0) 7515 597 868
e: olivia.goodall@lgim.com


Legal & General Property Limited.

Registered address:
One Coleman Street
London EC2R 5AA.
Registered in England 2091897.

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