City office block bought for hotel conversion
Whitbread has acquired the freehold of New London House, EC3, from clients of Orchard Street Investment Management for £56.5m.
The 89,722 sq ft building at 6 London Street, near Fenchurch Street station, was developed in the 1970s and comprises offices, shops and restaurants.
Whitbread has acquired the freehold of New London House, EC3, from clients of Orchard Street Investment Management for £56.5m.
The 89,722 sq ft building at 6 London Street, near Fenchurch Street station, was developed in the 1970s and comprises offices, shops and restaurants.
Whitbread intends to apply for planning consent to repurpose and extend the building into a hotel-led, mixed-use development. Plans include multiple uses for the site on, as well as new public spaces.
The acquisition is part of Whitbread’s wider strategy of repurposing office buildings which no longer meet the requirements of occupiers and investors.
Jonathan Langdon, senior acquisition manager at Whitbread, said: “New London House presents an excellent opportunity to expand our network in the City and deliver our high-quality, great value hotel bedrooms in a location with the transport connections and proximity to business and leisure demand drivers that our customers expect.”
Mark Anderson, managing director for property and international at Whitbread, added: “We are seeing a structural shift in the London office market, presenting opportunities to acquire office buildings that are no longer fit for occupier and investor purposes and to reposition and refurbish them into successful hotels. Our strong balance sheet, plentiful liquidity, and ability to buy and develop freehold property, which is rare in our sector, leaves Whitbread very well-placed to take advantage of this structural shift.”
Richard Walters, partner at Orchard Street, said: “New London House has proven to be a successful long-term investment for Orchard Street. Having completed our business plan of maintaining income for our client whilst preparing the asset for repositioning, we are delighted to pass the baton to Whitbread for the next phase of the property’s economic life.”
Work is already under way to convert former office buildings in Farringdon and Moorgate into Premier Inn and hub by Premier Inn hotels.
Whitbread was advised by Frame Real Estate Partners; Orchard Street Investment Management was advised by Cushman & Wakefield.
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Photo courtesy of Orchard Street Investment Management
