Leadenhall Triangle development site put into administration

Published 17th Nov 2010

A huge potential development site in the City was put into administration yesterday evening, Property Week can reveal.

Mark Batten and Stephen le Page of PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed administrators to a group of companies that own four buildings known as the Leadenhall Triangle site between Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street, which was once earmarked for a 1.25m sq ft headquarters for a global investment bank.

The site is owned by clients of investment manager Investream, which is also development manager of the site.

A £153m loan secured against the buildings matured in April, and Investream, run by Mark Morris and Maurice Golker, has been in talks with Hatfield Philips, the loan’s special servicer, about bringing in new equity to aid a refinancing. The buildings were valued at £140m in September.

As revealed by Property Week, PwC was lined up as administrator last month, and the Court of Guernsey – where the companies that own the buildings are registered – approved the administration yesterday.

Plans for a 1.25m sq ft campus-style scheme had been drawn up by architect Kohn Pedersen Fox in 2006. Investment bank Deutsche, which has a long-standing 1m sq ft requirement in the City, has long been mooted as a potential occupier of the site, as was JP Morgan.

Some of the leases on the existing buildings have been regeared, meaning that vacant possession may not be available until 2015; thus any development on the site would likely be after the current surge in City offices due for completion in 2014-2015 such as Land Securities’ Walkie Talkie at nearby 20 Fenchurch Street or British Land’s Cheesegrater on Leadenhall Street, also close by.

Source: ' Property Week '

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