Letting of 9 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London, W1
The Client
The Deerbrook Group, acting as asset manager on behalf of Pearlbourne Properties Ltd.
The Deerbrook Group are a central London based investment advisor and asset manager.
The Project
Office refurbishment, marketing and subsequent letting of the self contained listed building 9 Grosvenor Square, which totals 6,000 sq ft and is situated in a commanding position on the North East corner of this prestigious Mayfair square.
The Challenge
Having worked with the client on numerous projects before, Alex was instructed prior to the major refurbishment works being carried out. The first major challenge was to ensure that the team got the look and feel right of the new refurbishment, so that tenants in the market for this very rare offering would get what they want, whilst at the same time being sympathetic to the building being of historical importance.
The other main challenge would be to market it in such a way, being such a rare commodity, that would maximise the potential rental income and also to secure a strong tenant.
The Solution
Once the detail and scope of the refurbishment was agreed by the team and work was underway, overseen by the in house project management team, initial reporting was carried out to provide an overview of prime rental values across the better areas of the West End in similar self contained buildings and to see which, if any, would compete.
The team agreed that the full marketing campaign would be held off until the works were complete, however with a building such as this, word got out and viewings were requested by many would be tenants, which were quietly investigated by Alex and all bar two parties were dismissed.
After lengthy and complicated negotiations with the two parties, a suitable tenant was found and a deal exchanged in 25 hours from agreeing heads of terms. The Tenant agreed a new 10 year lease at an average rent of £93 per sq ft. The Tenant signed the lease just ahead of PC of the refurbishment works, which made it a rare pre- let for the West End.
The Benefits
All criteria of the client's aspirations were met. The building was pre-let to a tenant with a good covenant at a record rent for that part of Mayfair, which then valued the building much higher than previously.