Two years after it first bought into London’s Paddington Square development, British Land has extended its investment in the campus with the £210m acquisition of One Sheldon Square.
The purchase, from Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund, brings the property development and investment company’s total commitment at Paddington Central to 800,000 sq ft. It currently has around 146,000 sq ft under construction at 4 Kingdom Street, with another 210,000 sq ft of consented future development at 5 Kingdom Street.
In a statement, British Land said the acquisition was in line with its strategy of expanding its existing assets in London and the South East. “Acquiring One Sheldon Square, which is prominently located at the entrance to Paddington Central, allows us to develop a wider vision for the campus as an attractive mixed use destination,” the company said.
Fully let to electronic payment provider, Visa Europe Services, until the end of 2022 One Sheldon Square contains nine floors of 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space. It generates £9.5m in annual rent.
Paddington Central is an 11-acre mixed-use estate in London’s West End across seven separate buildings and a cluster of retail and leisure units totalling almost one-and-a-quarter million square feet.
In July 2013, British Land bought a majority share in the campus which included three of the seven buildings and various retail and leisure sites covering 610,000 sq ft. The deal also included 350,000 sq of consented development and the freehold of 200 residential units sold to St. George on long leases located above the retail area.
“Paddington Central is now full and we are progressing our vision to create a more attractive and engaging environment which better meets the changing needs of our customers,” explained Tim Roberts, Head of Offices at British Land. “We have started an extensive improvement works programme to the public realm and are also now on site at 4 Kingdom Street.”
Roberts said British Land — one of Europe’s largest publicly listed real estate companies — was working with Hopkins Architects on a new masterplan for Paddington Central.
“Phase One of the public works improvements is already underway and the 4 Kingdom Street work will be completed by 2017, ahead of the opening of the Crossrail station at Paddington the following year,” he added. Paddington will be one of three Crossrail stations in the West End, reducing travel times to the City and Canary Wharf.
