Estates Gazette • 15 February 2025 • News

Brockton Everlast has grown its portfolio in Cambridge through the acquisition of Worldpay’s regional hub from CBRE Investment Management.

The developer has bought a 40,000 sq ft office at Cambridge Science Park for £24.8m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.5%. The building is let on a low passing rent and offers medium-term value-add opportunities to drive rents.

The deal follows plans lodged last year by Brockton for The Fenway, a 725,000 sq ft sci-tech campus at Cambridge Science Park. The development, designed by Sheppard Robson and Hawkins
Brown, features five buildings providing laboratory, co-working and amenity space alongside 6.5 acres of public realm.

The Fenway is estimated to produce £316.6m per year for the economy, measured as gross value added.

First tenant for ex-House of Fraser store

Publica Properties, the landlord of the former House of Fraser store at 318 Oxford Street, W1, has signed Third Space as its first tenant.

The luxury gym operator has taken a lease for 30,000 sq ft at the building, known as Elephant.

The building, built in 1937, is being transformed into a 250,000 sq ft mixeduse development that will feature 159,000 sq ft of office space, 42,400 sq ft of retail space and a 12,400 sq ft rooftop restaurant.

The project includes replacing the sixth and seventh floors and adding an eighth storey.

Sophie Willson, of Willson Green, which acted for Publica Properties, said: “Retaining as much of the original building as possible, we are not only prioritising the environment, but also embracing the original character of the building as we reuse and repurpose the property to serve the needs of the occupiers, their employees and their visitors today and into the future.”

Marylebone offices get new lease of life

Berkeley Estate Asset Management’s plans for the turnaround of the 206-216 Marylebone Road office block, NW1, have been given the go-ahead.

The proposals, designed by Buckley Gray Yeoman Architects, include a replacement mixed-use commercial, office-led building that retains the 1930s façade. The building has sat vacant for more than nine years.

The scheme will span 185,602 sq ft, an increase of 31,560 sq ft. On the eighth floor, the developer has proposed a shared terrace, while office suites on floors four to seven will benefit from private terraces.

Colliers’ national offices team has expanded with the appointment of Jonathan Fear as head of the agency’s Birmingham city centre offices team. Fear has more than 25 years’ experience, with a focus on mixed-use regeneration projects and experience with hotel and student accommodation operators. Mike Hawkins, head of national offices at Colliers, said Fear’s experience would add value to its client offering.

Two former senior directors at JLL have launched a logistics consultancy. Ed Cole and Richard James-Moore will operate Incore as a director-only service covering the national bigger box market with a physical presence in the South and Midlands regions. They will focus on land, development and leasing. Cole spent 16 years at JLL, becoming head of national logistics in 2018. James-Moore has spent the past seven years at JLL, where he led the Midlands industrial and logistics teams.