EG’s most-read stories of 2018

Here’s your roundup of the most-read EG articles this year. We look back at the biggest stories from each month of 2018, from high-end developments to gender pay gaps – with a few bidding wars in between. January: China to build London embassy fortress on Royal Mint site [caption id="attachment_901582" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Royal Mint[/caption] The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China launched discussions to buy Delancey and LRC Group’s Royal Mint Court for a 600,000 sq ft campus in London. The government sought to transform the historic 5.5-acre site on the fringe of the City into an embassy, educational and cultural hub, strengthening its ties with the UK. Other locations in London under consideration included the Royal Mail’s former sorting office site at Nine Elms, SW8. The development had an expected end value of £750m. February: Tosca stalks Lambert Smith Hampton UK private equity fund Toscafund Asset Management sought to buy commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton. Tosca had previously held discussions with LSH owner Countrywide about funding a deal to merge it with EQT-owned GVA – and with merger plans on hold, Tosca maintained its interest in LSH. The acquisition would enable Tosca to turn LSH into a more multi-service operation to provide a “one-stop shop” for clients. March: GVA senior director put on garden leave John Jones, GVA’s chairman of property management consultancy, was put on garden leave after stating his intention to undertake a management buyout of the division. EG understood that Jones did not submit a formal business proposal but had verbally stated that undertaking an MBO was his intention, leading the company to make the  move. Jones worked at GVA for almost 26 years, since 1992. April: Which agent has the worst gender pay gap? UK property agents filed their reports on gender pay gaps, which ranged from 54% for Lambert Smith Hampton to 17.4% for CBRE. “Synonymous with the property industry our workforce is male-dominated,” said LSH chief executive Ezra Nahome. Colliers International suffered most from a lack of women in senior roles, with nine out of 10 workers in the top quartile of earners being men. It was followed by LSH, where 10.4% of roles in the top quartile were filled by women, and GVA, with 12%. GVA chief executive Gerry Hughes said: “We are aware of the scale of gender imbalance that exists at senior levels in our company, directly causing a significant gender pay gap.” Hughes said that no business could fix the issue single-handedly and called on the sector to collaborate in addressing the imbalance. May: Senior Legal & General exec departs to launch new firm [caption id="attachment_921164" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Charlie Walker[/caption] Charlie Walker, LGIM Real Assets’ director of business development, resigned from the firm to start up a new investment management business with Mike Morrison, who left his position as director of Fidelity International earlier in the year. The new business was expected to focus on fund and asset management and client solutions, initially in the UK but ultimately further afield. A Legal & General spokesman said: “After 18 years with Legal & General, Charlie Walker has decided to leave the business in order to pursue new interests. He leaves with our very best wishes for his future plans.” June: Surprise £1.5bn arches portfolio shortlist revealed CK Asset Holdings, Terra Firma and Kildare Partners were among the five parties taken through to the next round of bidding for Network Rail’s £1.5bn Arches portfolio. They were joined on the shortlist by two joint venture bids from Blackstone with Telereal Trillium and Goldman Sachs with Wellcome Trust. A shock omission from the shortlist was Legal & General Capital in a joint venture with Lendlease. The sales process was criticised by protest group Guardians of the Arches, which said small businesses would be driven out of their premises under a new owner. July: Shortlist revealed for £2.3bn Quintain [caption id="attachment_880794" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Quintain’s Wembley PRS scheme[/caption] The shortlist was revealed in the bid to acquire Loan Star’s £2.3bn Quintain. Delancey, in its Get Living PRS joint venture with Oxford Properties, APG and Qatari Diar, Greystar, LRC Group and Grand City Properties made up the competitors. Lone Star appointed Eastdil Secured and Credit Suisse to undertake a sale of the company in March. If an appropriate bid was not received, Loan Star planned to retain the company and build out the project itself. There was also strong appetite to provide debt to finance the project, although a straight sale was the most likely and preferred option by Lone Star. August: City of London to consolidate and relocate London’s markets Following a strategic review, the City of London Corporation revealed plans to consolidate Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield markets under one roof. Lambert Smith Hampton was appointed to undertake the search for a new 100-acre site. An external consultation was due to start, with proposals to be explored with traders, customers, tenants and local authorities. Meanwhile, the City sought to consult with MPs and interested parties, including Historic England. The City said it would also consider proposals of a small number of sites adding up to 100 acres in close proximity that could be operated together. Additional uses for the new site would include an apprenticeship school for fishmongers and butchers. September: Lone Star decides fate of £2.25bn Quintain After weeks of negotiations, private equity firm Lone Star withdrew Quintain from the market and ceased talks over a prospective sale to a Delancey-led consortium that included Qatari Diar, Oxford Properties and APG. The deal would have seen the group pick up Quintain’s 85-acre Wembley scheme, which seeks to deliver 7,000 flats, the bulk of which will be PRS. A spokesman for Lone Star said: “Following a review of options at Quintain, we have taken the decision to conclude recent discussions around a sale.” It is understood the two parties came very close to agreeing a deal, with Lone Star holding out for around £2.25bn and Delancey offering more than £2.1bn, but neither side was willing to shift further October: Centre Point agents stood down as London resi market is “detached from reality” Almacantar disinstructed sales agents CBRE and Knight Frank on the 82-flat scheme at its iconic luxury residential Centre Point, due to uncertainty on potential changes to stamp duty, the upcoming hike in taxation for overseas investors and other fiscal policy proposals. Mike Hussey, chief executive of Almacantar, said: “Having sold 50% of the apartments, cleared the construction debt and fully leased the retail component, we see no point in chasing a market that is increasingly detached from reality.” Alistair Elliot, chairman of Knight Frank, said: “We are confident that we will get back to the right pricing once we have clearer guidance on fiscal policy, an orderly withdrawal agreement from the EU and the added benefit of the opening of the Elizabeth Line.” November: EQT agrees £200m GVA sale [caption id="attachment_955780" align="aligncenter" width="847"] GVA’s Gerry Hughes[/caption] Swedish private equity firm EQT struck a deal to sell UK property advisory firm GVA to Canadian firm Avison Young for around £200m. The deal was anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2019. EQT appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to explore a market testing exercise for GVA in May. It also held discussions with Cushman & Wakefield over a possible deal, but EQT had wanted to progress a deal quickly, whereas the newly listed Cushman had been cautious about making such a major move for a UK firm ahead of the country’s scheduled departure from the European Union in March. December: TfL reveals shortlist for 3,000-home BTR jv Argent Related, Grainger and Greystar were named as the three bidders on the shortlist to become Transport for London’s investment partner on the 3,000-home build-to-rent portfolio. The joint venture will see the selected partner finance, design and manage the schemes, with up to 10 sites earmarked for phase. It released a provisional list which included up to 1,500 homes in Limmo Peninsula, despite previous comments that this would be dropped from the portfolio. TfL unveiled its ambition to become a major London landlord in September, creating a long-term income stream to help plug the gap left  by scrapped government grants.