Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan have completed the purchase of the BBC’s Media Village in west London, which will now be known as White City Place.
Under the terms of the agreement, the BBC will receive £87 million for the sale of four acres of freehold land and the lease of six buildings on the site. The BBC will continue to occupy three of the properties, making an annual saving of £33 million in running costs.
The three buildings being vacated by the BBC are White City One, Media Centre and Garden House. These will now undergo a full refurbishment before being brought back to the market late next year, providing a total of 600,000 sq ft of business space designed to appeal to a range of creative industry occupiers.
Today’s announcement is in line with the BBC’s strategy to reduce its property footprint, which has fallen by around 40 per cent since 1998. The corporation is now on course to save over £75 million a year by 2017 – a £19 million increase on its original target.
Anne Bulford, Managing Director of Finance and Operations at the BBC, said: “The BBC is determined to work out of the minimum number of buildings possible whilst still representing the audience it serves.
“Today’s announcement is an excellent deal for licence fee payers. We will now save £75 million a year from prudent property management, meaning even more of the licence fee will go on what matters most to our audience – the programmes they love.”
David Camp, Chief Executive of Stanhope Plc, said: “White City Place will become the commercial heart to White City. Together with Television Centre, we will be delivering close to two million sq ft of office space and nearly 1,000 new homes over the next five years.”
“Alongside the BBC studios at Television Centre, the John Lewis store opening in 2018, and the Imperial West campus on Wood Lane, White City is fast becoming the place to be.”
Hideto Yamada, Managing Director of Mitsui Fudosan UK Ltd, said that a significant amount of development will come to fruition across the 110 hectare White City Opportunity Area over the coming years, fully transforming the area.
“White City Place will be designed to appeal to young and growing businesses and retailers, creating a fresh and vibrant business destination in west London,” he continued.
“We are delighted to add this iconic asset to our growing London portfolio; the acquisition reflects Mitsui Fudosan’s long-term commitment to expand our investment strategy to strong markets outside of Japan.”
Earlier this week Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan appointed DTZ to join GM Real Estate in marketing the partnership’s 300,000 sq ft City office tower Angel Court, which is currently under construction next to the Bank of England.
