Estates Gazette, April 23, 2001
Derwent Pulls off Double Act
" Central London specialist investor Derwent Valley has pulled off
an impressive double act. It has exchanged contracts to sell Hythe House,
200 Shepherds Bush Road, Hammersmith W6 for £21.725m to Alecta
Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt. Derwent bought the 5,134 sq m (55,250 sq ft)
office building in 1996 as a leasehold interest and subsequently bought in
the freehold and carried out extensive refurbishment of the building in
1998. There are four tenants, including Swissair, with 13 years remaning on
the lease . Current rental income from the building is £1.6m pa.
John Burns, managing director of Derwent, said: "This sale has been achieved at a satisfactory surplus to year-end book value, following our refurbishment and letting programme." Allsop & Co acted for Derwent while Godfrey Vaughan advised Alecta. The cash injection from the disposal was boosted by the preletting of Derwent's Iron Trades House building in Victoria, SW1. As revealed in EGi (20 April 2001), Derwent has prelet 1,980 sq m, (21,300 sq ft) of vacant space at the building sited at 21 Grosvenor Place, SW1 to Enron Power Operations. Enron will pay Derwent, acting through its subsidiary Wilmar Estates, £55 per sq ft (592 sq m). Enron will receive a seven-month rent-free period with the lease expiring in 2014 with reviews in 2004 and 2009.
The space is currently being refurbished by Derwent Valley as part of a £5m scheme, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. Burns added: "This preletting to a major international group confirms the continuing demand for space in central London. With average rents in the remainder of the building of £30 per sq ft, we have been able to enhance value at an early stage." Godfrey Vaughan advised Enron while Knight Frank and Nelson Bakewell acted for Derwent. "