The Deal Sheet is a weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond’s biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
Equinix is to create a 250-plus-megawatt data centre on an 85-acre site near the M25 motorway at South Mimms, Hertfordshire, and has pledged to invest £3.9B in the project.
The under-construction facility formerly known as DC01UK, a 2M SF data centre site, has been renamed Hertfordshire Campus. Equinix said 100% of the power to the facility is covered by renewable energy agreements, while the data centre will utilise dry cooling.
Courtesy of DC01UK
The DC01UK scheme in Hertfordshire
The colocation specialist has also pledged to retain 54% of the land around the data centre as open space and said it will create new ecological habitats that will deliver a biodiversity net gain of at least 10%.
“The UK is a cornerstone of the global economy and is a natural home for our most substantial investment in Europe to date,” Equinix UK Managing Director James Tyler said in a statement.
DEALS
Royal London Asset Management Property has acquired 1 Newman Street from Great Portland Estates for £250M, a 4.5% yield.
The multilet asset comprises 121K SF of prime office and retail space arranged over nine floors, and the building sits directly opposite the Dean Street entrance of the Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line.
Tenants at the fully let asset include Scape UK Management and Bell Rock Capital Management, alongside retailers such as Pandora, and the building has a BREEAM Excellent rating.
“This asset perfectly complements our strategy of investing at scale in highly accessible, high amenity, best-in-class buildings with exceptional sustainability credentials, that offer long-term growth potential,” RLAM Property Portfolio Fund Manager Will Edwards said in a statement.
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Starlight Investments has acquired a build-to-rent development in Maidenhead, Berkshire, part of the St Cloud Way regeneration scheme, from Countryside Properties, a subsidiary of Vistry Group.
Located on the site of the former Magnet Leisure Centre, the development is under construction and will deliver 255 rental homes across three buildings ranging from four to 11 storeys with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
The first residence, with 73 apartments, is expected to be completed in December, with the remaining residential buildings anticipated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2026.
FUNDING
Fiera Real Estate and Harleyford Capital have secured a £25.5M debt facility from QuadReal Property Group to fund the development of 180K SF of Grade A logistics space at Watford Works.
Watford Works includes 2 megavolt-amperes across the scheme, which consists of 13 units ranging from 7,500 SF to 50K SF. The development is targeting BREEAM Outstanding and an energy performance certificate A+ rating.
Having received planning approval for the 13 logistics units in March this year, construction works are already underway, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. MCS has been appointed as the main contractor for the site.
Watford Works was acquired through the Fiera Real Estate Logistics Development Fund.
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Investec Bank has provided Hillwood with a £28M senior loan for the development of a 248K SF Grade A industrial scheme in Northamptonshire.
The Quattro Raunds scheme will speculatively deliver four industrial units, ranging from 11K SF to 117K SF. It is targeting BREEAM Excellent.
Located on the A45 corridor, Quattro Raunds has direct access to the A14 and M1 motorway, as well as nearby centres including Northampton, Kettering and Corby.
PLANNING
Landmark Properties has submitted a planning application for approximately 500 purpose-built student bedrooms at 120 Suffolk Street in Birmingham.
The project is set to be the first of several new schemes Landmark has secured over the last 12 months, the company said, and plans for the redevelopment of a car park adjacent to the Mailbox have been submitted to Birmingham City Council.
The scheme was designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, which has worked in collaboration with Birmingham City Council to develop the approach.
LEASING
Barings and joint venture partner and development manager LBS Properties have secured more than 106K SF of lettings, with only two floors remaining available at Tide Bankside, the companies said.
Most recently, the 13,600 SF eighth floor of Tide Bankside was let on a 10-year lease to a European intellectual property firm, which will join occupiers including Costello Medical, Flight Centre, Workplace Futures Group and Waterman Group, plus flexible space Flex @ Tide, operated by NewFlex.
Tide Bankside comprises 11 upper floors and approximately 145K SF of office space, a ground-floor retail unit, more than 13K SF of private and shared green spaces, and 284 bicycle parking spaces. It has achieved a BRE Design Reviewed NABERS five-star rating, EPC A and is pending BREEAM Outstanding certification.