Demand for riverside property is fueling a development boom on the banks of the Thames. Investors are buying up redundant industrial buildings from Vauxhall to Greenwich as both residential and commercial developments along the stretch of river have outperformed the wider prime London market by 9 per cent over the past five years.
This week US private equity group Carlyle has joined other overseas investors with projects in the pipeline. On Monday the company announced plans for a development including a 48 storey skyscraper on a site between Tate Modern and Blackfriars Bridge.
The £1 billion project features nine new buildings providing 1.4 million sq ft of office and residential space. The plans, which are awaiting approval from Southwark Council, will involve the demolition of two existing buildings. These are Ludgate House, the former HQ of Express Newspapers, and Sampson House. These will become vacant in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
The proposal will also lead to the restoration of a footpath along the river and the reopening of a stretch of the Upper Ground thoroughfare for the first time in 150 years. Managing director of Carlyle, Mark Harris, says the development is part of the wider renewal of the South Bank and that the site will provide a gateway into the area.
He said; “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to truly regenerate and reinvigorate a large, important and extremely well-located but underutilised site right on the River Thames.”
The Thames development boom is being led by some of the world’s largest sovereign and wealth funds keen to take advantage of the opportunities available. Cash rich buyers from Asia and the Middle East are also among those competing for dilapidated warehouses, decommissioned print works and abandoned wharfs.
Analysts expect demand for these former industrial sites and underutilised office buildings along the Thames to remain robust, as overseas investors continue to exploit the potential of the London property market.
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