Pre-Let to Debenhams at Regent's Place secured

RNS Number : 5316O

British Land Co PLC

20 September 2011

 



                                                   20 September 2011

British Land Secures 145,000 sq ft Pre-Let to Debenhams at Regent's Place

British Land announces that it has agreed terms to pre-let 145,000 sq ft of office space to Debenhams plc for a new headquarters at 10 Brock Street, Regent's Place, NW1; a new office building which is being developed as part of British Land's 500,000 sq ft mixed-use development at the North East Quadrant (NEQ). Work started on site a year ago in October 2010.

The NEQ development, which will complete our Regent's Place estate, will comprise 340,000 sq ft of offices along with 40,000 sq ft of retail and community space, as well as 120,000 sq ft of residential accommodation. 10 Brock Street has been designed by Wilkinson Eyre, and Debenhams will be occupying approximately 40% of the building. The residential accommodation has been designed by Stephen Marshall Architects and 70% of the luxury apartments have already been successfully pre-sold.

On completion of the development in summer 2013, Debenhams will occupy the ground to fourth floors of 10 Brock Street for a term of 25 years without break.

Debenhams is the latest of a diverse range of major occupiers to select Regent's Place for their main UK headquarters following recent lettings to Aegis Group, Gazprom, Lend Lease, Ricoh, and Dimensional Fund Advisors.  The development will complete the Regent's Place estate, which will have doubled in size over the last four years to around 2 million sq ft of office, retail and residential space, providing high quality accommodation for 14,000 workers and residents.          

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices at British Land said, "It is particularly pleasing to welcome to Regent's Place a major UK corporate such as Debenhams, with whom we already enjoy a strong relationship.  Today's announcement is a further endorsement of the quality and attractiveness of our 2.2 million sq ft office development programme to major occupiers.  The letting secures long-term income on the lower floors underpinning investment value, leaving the opportunity to attract premium rents on the higher floors closer to the building's completion date."

Michael Sharp, Chief Executive of Debenhams plc said, "We are delighted to have secured space at Regent's Place for our new headquarters. The estate is well positioned in the West End with great communication links across London.  It also provides outstanding amenities and sense of community for its occupants. We look forward to working with British Land and moving into the new offices in 2013."

Enquiries:

British Land:

Investor Relations

Sally Jones, British Land                                                             020 7467 2942

Media

Pip Wood, British Land                                                                020 7467 2838

Guy Lamming/ Gordon Simpson, Finsbury                                    020 7251 3801

Notes to Editors

About British Land

British Land is one of Europe's largest Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with total assets, owned or managed, of £15.2 billion (British Land share £9.9 billion), as valued at 30 June 2011. Through our property and finance expertise we attract experienced partners to create properties and environments which are home to over 1,000 different organisations and visited by over 250 million people each year. Our property portfolio is focused on prime retail locations and Central London offices which attract high quality occupiers committed to long leases. Our occupancy rate of 98% and average lease length to first break of 11 years are among the highest of the major UK REITs.

Retail assets account for 64% of our portfolio, over 80% of which are located at prime out-of-town sites. Comprising around 27 million sq ft of retail space across 91 retail warehouse properties, 99 superstores, 12 shopping centres and 10 department stores, the retail portfolio is generally modern, flexible and adaptable to a wide range of formats. Active asset management delivers attractive space to both retailers and consumers.

London offices, located in the City and West End, comprise 33% of the portfolio (rising to an estimated 38% on completion of current developments) amounting to 7 million sq ft of office space including Broadgate, the premier City office campus (50% share) and Regent's Place in the West End. We are investing £1.1 billion to create Central London's largest committed office development programme which will deliver 2.2 million sq ft of high quality space by 2014, including a 700,000 sq ft building at 5 Broadgate, the 610,000 sq ft Leadenhall Building in London's insurance district and the 500,000 sq ft NEQ mixed use scheme at Regent's Place.

Our size and substance demands a responsible approach to business and we focus on five areas which matter most to us and our key stakeholders: managing buildings efficiently; developing sustainable buildings; enhancing biodiversity; exceeding customers' expectations and focusing on local communities. We believe leadership on issues such as sustainability helps drive our performance and is core to our corporate aim of building the best REIT in Europe.

Further details can be found on the British Land website at www.britishland.com

About the Regent's Place estate

Located on the Marylebone Road/Euston Road corridor, one of London's main arteries, Regent's Place occupies a prominent position at the north end of London's West End. Four underground stations and two national mainline railway stations - King's Cross St Pancras and Euston - provide excellent transport links around London, nationally and internationally via Eurostar.

Over the past 25 years, British Land has transformed this 13 acre office-led estate, working in partnership with the architect Sir Terry Farrell, the local authority and local communities. Today, comprising 1.5 million sq ft of office, retail, leisure and residential space (of which British Land own 1.2 million sq ft), Regent's Place is a vibrant multi-use estate home to a broad range of quality occupiers and is over 98% occupied. It is undergoing its final phase of development with a 500,000 sq ft office-led scheme on the North East Quadrant which is due for completion in 2013. On completion the estate will have doubled in size over the last four years to 2 million sq ft where 14,000 people will live or work.

Further information can be found on the Regent's Place website at www.regentsplace.com

 

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