Pic:Network Rail has agreed to sell its commercial property portfolio ( AFP)
Business reporter(wp/es);
The new owner of Network Rail’s £1.5 billion commercial property portfolio has revealed plans to invest in reopening up to 430 empty arches in London.
Property investors Blackstone and Telereal Trillium, which yesterday won the bid to buy 5200 properties, including over 4000 railway arches, today outlined the proposals and tried to calm tenants’ fears over rental hikes.
Telereal Trillium’s managing director Adam Dakin told the Standard there are 930 vacant arches across England and Wales, and he wants to look at reopening swathes of the 430 that are located in London. They are spread throughout the capital, from Stratford to Herne Hill, to Battersea and Camden.
Dakin said his firm wants to support existing trader tenants in London, including breweries, gyms and hairdressers, who number more than a thousand.
Dakin said: “We want to keep the quirky and independent nature of the tenant mix.”
He added that the landlord is prepared to put money aside to help small businesses if they are struggling.
The buyers beat rival bidders including Kildare Partners and Guy Hands’ Terra Firma. Network Rail hired Rothschild to put the portfolio up for sale last year.
Will Brett of the New Economics Foundation think-tank, which is supporting the Guardians of the Arches campaign group, said many tenants had already been forced out by “eye-watering” rents.
“Any new owner is going to have to work very hard to prove they are genuinely on the side of small businesses based in arches.”
Sammy Forway, who runs The Underdog gallery at the Crucifix Lane Arch, London Bridge, said: “My message to the new owner is please work with and nurture the existing businesses, and promote new ventures to keep a loyal and long-term tenancy.”
Network Rail said it will reinvest the proceeds of the sale.
No comments:
Post a Comment