Letting of Jubilee House, 197-213 Oxford Street, London, W1
"Alex came to us with well thought out advice regarding the refurbishment of the building, put together a well orchestrated letting campaign, which resulted in a letting before the works had been completed at a rental level in excess of our expectations and to a strong covenant. We couldn't have asked for more".
Paul McGrath - Director,
Cosgrave Property Group.
The Client
Cosgrave Property Group is an Irish property development company owned and run by the Cosgrave family out of Dublin, with notable developments across Ireland, as well as in the UK. In 2007 the company won the "Irish Developer of the Year Award" at the Property Week awards event.
The Project
Office refurbishment, marketing and subsequent letting of the 4th and 5th floors totalling just over 20,000 sq ft in a prime Oxford Street location, on the edge of Soho, in the heart of London's West End.
The Challenge
Alex was instructed prior to any refurbishment works were carried out to the building and the initial challenge was for the whole project team, to come up with some exciting fresh design ideas that would transform the building into a modern workplace that would appeal to a wide variety of end users. It was paramount to get the right look and feel to the general office space, whilst delivering the specification that tenants in the current market expect.
Another significant challenge was to be the design and refurbishment of the entrance lobby and common parts, as they were in need of modernisation and substantial upgrading, both cosmetically and in M & E terms.
The Solution
Initial reporting was carried out to provide an overview of the general Central London office market, along with specific West End competing buildings and rental evaluations in the area, as this was to be Cosgrave's first major refurbishment and office leasing opportunity in the West End since purchasing the building.
The team agreed upon a refurbishment programme and whilst works commenced, marketing material was drafted whilst Alex quietly searched the market for a single occupier seeking 20,000 sq ft in the area. It was agreed that unless there was a perfect tenant found, that the full blown marketing campaign would not be launched until PC of the works.
Christies the auction house were approached and identified as being the perfect tenant for the space and after some difficult and protracted negotiations, Christies International Property and Investments Ltd signed a new lease at a rent just under £50 per sq ft which was a record for the area. They also signed the lease ahead of PC of the refurbishment works, which made it one of the West End's few pre- lets.
The Benefits
All key criteria of the client's aspirations were met. The building was pre-let to a tenant with a strong covenant at a record rent for the area, which therefore valued the building higher than previously expected.