FREEHOLD OFFICE INVESTMENT49-51 BEDFORD SQUARE LONDON WC1
INVESTMENT SUMMARY
• Prime Bloomsbury Location
• Freehold
• Three Grade I Listed former Georgian townhouses with
interconnecting rear mews building
• Comprehensively refurbished in 2011
• Approximately 23,477 ft² (2,181 m²) net internal area and an
estimated 33,372 ft² (3,100 m²) gross internal area
• Entirely let on FRI terms to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc until
January 2031, subject to a tenant’s break option in January 2021
(approximately 8.5 years term certain)
• Currently producing £630,000 per annum exclusive reflecting
£26.83 per ft² overall or £31.95 per ft² on best office space
• Offers in excess of £11,900,000 subject to contract and exclusive
of VAT reflecting a net initial yield of 5.00% and an estimated
equivalent yield of 5.72%
• A capital value of only £507 per ft² on NIA and approximately
£357 per ft² on GIA
RATIONALE
• Rare opportunity to buy three Grade I Listed former townhouses
in a prime Bloomsbury location
• Long term income to undoubted covenant
• We believe the property is reversionary and has an estimated
rental value today of approximately £33.65 per ft² overall or
£40.00 per ft² on best office space
• Long term change of use potential to residential or hotel uses or
for owner occupation, subject to necessary consents and securing
vacant possession
• Long term potential to divide the property into four separate
holdings
• Very low capital value per ft² - in recent years, other freehold
buildings in Bedford Square sold with vacant possession have
achieved over £750 per ft² on NIA and £500 per ft² on GIA
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
Mews Rear Elevation
Lower Ground Courtyard
Lorem Ipsum Dolor
Conservatory Extension to Mews
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
Bedford Square is strategically located mid way
between the City and West End in a sub-market of
Midtown called Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury is noted for
its cultural, educational and healthcare institutions
and its close proximity to the vibrant retail and leisure
amenities of Oxford Street and Covent Garden.
The area to the west of Bedford Square is favoured by
the media sector and to the east and north are large
institutions such as The University College London,
Birbeck, University College Hospital and the British
Museum. Other major occupiers include Great
Ormond Street Hospital, The Wellcome Trust, Bupa,
Fremantle Media, Time Out, Emap and Google.
Public transport facilities to Bedford Square are
excellent with Tottenham Court Road Underground
Station (Central and Northern lines) a short walk to
the south.
Goodge Street (Northern Line), Russell Square
(Piccadilly Line) and Warren Street (Victoria and
Northern Lines) underground stations are also located
within a short walking distance.
Mainline train services are situated within a
10-15 minute walk to Euston and Kings
Cross/St Pancras which also has international
connections to Europe via Eurostar.
Tottenham Court Road also forms part of
Crossrail which is scheduled to open in 2017
and will dramatically improve London’s wider
transport systems. The Crossrail link will
provide a new high frequency railway service
connecting Maidenhead and Heathrow in the
west to Shenfield and Abbeywood in the east
and will transform accessibility into the
immediate area.
The surrounding area will also benefit from
the major regeneration projects planned for
the eastern end of Oxford Street and will
include the provision of a public piazza
outside Centre Point and an improved
pedestrian environment.
LOCATION
26.8m
BLOOMSBURY
STREET
SQUARE
BEDFORD
50
5453
45
5856
25
BEDFORD AVENUE
0m 5m 10m 15m
Ordnance Survey © Crown Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Licence number 100020449.Getmapping plc 2012. Plotted Scale - 1:464
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
E
RE
GE
NT ST
OXFORD STREET
NEW
OXFORD STREET
MORTIMER STREET
GOODGE ST
TOTTEN
HA
M CO
URT RO
AD
GO
WER STREET
WO
BURN PLACE
SO
UTHAM
PTON
ROW
ST GILES HIGH STREET
HIGH HOL
CH
AR
ING
CR
OSS R
OA
D
SHAFT
ESBU
RY A
VE
CAVENDISH ST
GUILFORD STREET
ET
GREAT PORTLAND STREET
WA
RD
OU
R STR
EET
CHA
RLOTTE STREET
ENDELL ST
BOW ST
TOTTENHAMCOURT ROAD
RUSSELLSQUARE
GOODGESTREET
TNDT
HOLBURN
OXFORDCIRCUS
LEICESTERSQUARE
COVENTGARDEN
BritishMuseum
RussellSquare
SohoSquare
BedfordSquare
RoyalOperaHouse
SOHO
NOHO
HOLBORN
COVENTGARDEN
BLOOMSBURY
78
65
4
2
1
3
9
LOCAL ACTIVITY
Tottenham Court Road Underground Station & Crossrail
On completion of the scheduled works in 2018, the number of people using the station is expected to double matching the number of pedestrians currently using Oxford Circus. Improvements are planned to public spaces, public realm and the creation of new bus and cycle routes.
Centre Point
Property companies Almancantar and Frogmore are seeking a planning consent to convert this landmark tower into a luxury residential led scheme to include 80 flats, 44,000 sq ft of A1 / A3 accommodation and a new public square. Completion is scheduled for 2015.
Central St Giles
Legal and General’s new development provides over 400,000 sq ft of high specification offices in addition to retail, restaurants and 109 residential apartments. Occupiers include Google, NBC Universal, WPP Group, Specific Media Ltd and Mindshare.
Central Cross, 1 & 2 Stephen Street
Derwent London has plans to extend and improve this landmark mixed-use property over the next few years. Phase 1 & 2 include an office refurbishment and extension.
Fitzroy Place
Aviva and Exemplar have secured planning permission to develop a 3 acre site that will include 237 private dwellings, 54 affordable homes, 210,000 sq ft of offices in two office buildings and approximately 21,000 sq ft of retail and restaurants. Completion is scheduled for late 2014.
14-18 Oxford Street & 3 Tottenham Court Road
underground station.
1 Oxford Street
Derwent London with Crossrail intend to develop a mixed use scheme above the station that will comprise over 200,000 ft² of offices, 37,000 ft² of retail and a 350 seat theatre. Work is intended to commence in 2017.
80 Charlotte Street
Derwent London plc has secured planning permission for a mixed use development of Saatchi & Saatchi’s current offices. The scheme will provide approximately 320,000 ft² of offices, retail and residential with completion expected in 2015.
35-50 Rathbone Place (Post Office Sorting Office)
Great Portland Estates recently acquired a 2.3 acre site and are planning a new application that will comprise a substantial mixed use scheme and public realm improvements.
In October 2012, Primark are scheduled to open a new store of approximately 80,000 ft² opposite the new entrance to the underground station.
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49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
There is a mix of perimeter and under
floor trunking with part raised floors and
suspended ceilings in the rear mews.
The entire property was subject to a
comprehensive refurbishment in January
2011. These works included an upgrade
and extension of the comfort cooling
system, a refurbishment of the lifts and a
full redecoration of the offices and
common parts.
The gardens in the Square are private
with access restricted to local residents
and office occupiers.
DESCRIPTION
and office occupiers.
Ground Floor Rear
First Floor Front
Bedford Square was built between 1775 and
1780 and is the only complete and intact
Georgian Square in London.
49-51 Bedford Square comprises a mid terrace
of three inter-connecting Grade I listed
Georgian townhouses arranged over lower
ground, ground and three upper floors and a
separate 1980’s rear mews building on lower
ground, ground and two upper floors. The front
and rear buildings are linked at lower ground
and ground floors and there is an attractive
central courtyard which provides daylight to
the lower ground floors. The mews building
also benefits from a large conservatory and
direct access to Bedford Avenue.
The front buildings typically comprise large
elegant rooms on ground, first and second
floors with stunning views over the Square.
All three buildings on Bedford Square are linked
at all levels and each has an elegant
cantilevered staircase with access to WC
accommodation. There are stucco decorations
throughout and a large number of period
marble fireplaces. Two passenger lifts service
all floors from each end of the building.
The rear mews building has a modern layout
with open plan rectangular floor plates with
good levels of natural light.
There is a large conservatory overlooking the
courtyard which is currently used by the tenant
as a break-out area.
A further lift provides access to all floors and
wheel chair access via the Bedford Avenue
entrance. The landlords office specification
includes central heating, comfort cooling to
the ground floor of the front buildings and the
rear basement, ground and second floors of
the mews.
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
ACCOMMODATION
The property has the following approximate net internal floor areas:-
Floor Use Ft² M²
49-51 Bedford Square
3rd Office 2,746 255
2nd Office 2,945 274
1st Office 3,046 283
Ground Office 2,525 235
Ground Reception 399 37
Lower Ground Office 2,143 199
Lower Ground Vaults 663 62
Sub-Total 14,467 1,344
Mews Building
2nd Office 1,305 121
1st Office 2,163 201
Ground Office 1,782 166
Ground Conservatory 567 53
Lower Ground Office 3,193 297
Sub-Total 9,010 837
TOTAL 23,477 2,181
Each front building comprises approximately 4,500 ft² net internal
area. The gross internal area is estimated to be approximately
33,372 ft².
PLANNING
The entire terrace of 40-53 Bedford Square is Grade I listed and lies
within London Borough of Camden’s Bloomsbury Conservation Area.
The current planning use for 49-51 Bedford Square is B1 offices. Local
planners have indicated that buildings can be converted back to their
original residential use (subject to necessary consents) and over the
last few years four properties on the south side of the Square have
obtained planning consent for conversion to residential use.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN TYPICAL UPPER FLOOR PLAN
Lift
Lift
SKY
Lift
Office
Lightwell
Lift
Lift
Lightwell
Lightwell Lightwell Lightwell
Lightwell
Conservatory
Plans not to scale. For indicative purposed only.
Lift
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
COVENANT
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is an independent, worldwide
publishing house of fiction and non-fiction with offices in
London, New York, Sydney and New Delhi publishing over
1,000 books per year. The company’s growth over the past
decade is largely attributable to the Harry Potter series by J. K.
Rowling. 50 Bedford Square is the London Headquarters for
the company where they employ over 350 people.
The accounts for Bloomsbury Publishing Plc show a turnover to
the year ending February 2012 of £103.2 million and a pre-tax
profit of £4.8 million with net assets of £109 million. They
have an Experian rating of ‘A’ which is described as ‘very
low risk’.
Further information can be found at www.bloomsbury-ir.co.uk
and www.bloomsbury.com.
TENANCY
The entire property is let to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for a
term of 20 years from 10th January 2011 expiring 9th
January 2031. The lease is subject to a tenant only break
option on 9th January 2021 on six months written notice. In
the event the tenant does not exercise the break option, they
are entitled to a rent free period for 9 months from 10th
January 2021 to and including 9th October 2021.
The lease is ‘inside’ the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 and rent
reviews are 5 yearly and upwards only, the next falling on
10th January 2016.
The rent passing is £630,000 per annum which can be
analysed to reflect £26.83 per ft² overall or approximately
£31.95 per ft² on best office space. As an alternative to rent
free, the tenant is currently paying ‘half rent’ (ie £315,000pa)
until 10th January 2014 after which the ‘full rent’ (ie
£630,000pa) becomes payable and it is the vendors intention
to top-up the rent to the full amount until this time.
Ground Floor FrontCentral Courtyard
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
TENURE
The property is held freehold.
ESTIMATED RENTAL VALUE
We believe the property has an estimated rental value today in the
region of £790,000 per annum which reflects £33.65 per ft² overall
(£40.00 per ft² on best office space). Adopting a market rent free
period, we estimate the net effective ERV today is £740,000 per
annum which reflects £31.52 per ft² overall (£37.50 per ft² on best
office space).
The rent review provisions are institutional with the usual
assumptions and disregards (such as tenant improvements) and the
assumed term is 10 years from the relevant review date.
VAT
The property has been elected for VAT and it is proposed the sale
will be structured as a TOGC.
CAPITAL ALLOWANCES
There are no capital allowances available to a purchaser.
PROPOSAL
We are instructed to seek offers in excess of £11,900,000 subject to
contract and exclusive of VAT. This reflects the following yield profile:
Net Initial Yield: 5.00%
Equivalent yield: 5.72%
Yield in 01/2016 based on our estimate of ERV: 5.88%
Reversionary yield off headline ERV: 6.27%
A sale at this price also reflects a capital value of only £507 per ft² on
NIA and approximately £357 per ft² on GIA.
Third Floor Rear Mews Ground Conservatory First Floor Rear
49-51 BEDFORD SQUARELONDON WC1
For further information or to arrange an inspection,
please contact:
James Maclachlan
DD: 020 7858 6865
M: 07798 698982
Email: [email protected]
Paul Rowntree
DD: 020 7858 6863
M: 07825 507523
Email: [email protected]
James McAdden
DD: 020 7858 6869
M: 07825 507526
Email: [email protected]
Subject to Contract and Exclusive of VAT.Kingly Partners LLP for themselves give notice that (i) these particulars do not constitute, nor constitute any part of, an offer or a contract; (ii) all statements contained in these particulars as to these properties are made without responsibility on the part of Kingly Partners LLP (iii) none of the statements contained in these particulars are to be relied on as statements or representations of fact; (iv) any intending purchasers must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise, as to the correctness of each of the statements contained in these particulars; (v) the vendors do not make or give, and neither Kingly Partners LLP nor any person in their employment has authority to make or give, any representation or warranty whatever in relation to this property. Unless otherwise stated, all prices and rents are quoted exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT). Any intending purchasers must satisfy themselves independently as to the incidence of VAT in respect of any transaction. July 2012.
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