£200m fund for London offices set up

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 27-09-2010

A new £200 million fund has been set up to purchase ageing and run-down office stock in the capital in a bid to tap into the improving office rental sector in the years ahead.

Grosvenor has created its first new commercial fund since 2006 by taking this action and will focus on properties in need of office refurbishment in order to maximise its profits, the Independent reports.

The firm stated that its research has shown there is more than 40 million sq ft of available properties across both the West End and City where leases are due to expire and the premises are therefore ripe for renewal.

"When you factor in strong prime rental growth forecasts of 46 per cent in the West End and 34 per cent in the City we are expecting real growth," Mervyn Howard, Grosvenor's head of UK fund management, told the publication.

Meanwhile, Timothy Lambert, head of consulting at private wealth management firm Ducalian, recently stated his belief that the UK commercial property sector is presently in a "state of flux" and therefore property owners should be careful not to pass on any negatives of the present market to their clients.

Posted by Adrian Norman