Wallace client is paid highest rent in the City for 2009
December 2009
With a long history of advising landlords and tenants on business tenancies in and around Greater London, Wallace was well placed to advise long-standing client SuperDerivatives on its tenancy agreement with financial investor Sutherland Group, a deal which has ended up being the highest rent in the City this year. Sutherland Group has taken 3,000 square feet from the landlord, SuperDerivatives, at IVG’s ‘Gherkin’ building at 30 St Mary Axe, EC3. SuperDerivatives itself is a tenant of the building, and has sublet part of its premises to Sutherland Group, which is paying £59.50 per square foot on a five-year lease. Sutherland group was advised by Bates Wells & Braithwaite.
This and other large leases point to new market momentum and indicates that the amount of space under offer in central London continues to rise, reaching 3.4 million square feet at the end of November, a 21% rise on October and more than double that recorded at the start of the year.
Martin Otvos, lead partner on the deal, commented: “We are certainly seeing the first signs of recovery. Business leases are a good indicator of market activity, both in terms of the business rental market itself and the wider business landscape. If businesses are taking out more office space, they are clearly either experiencing growth or anticipating growth. So overall this is a positive indication of improving corporate activity in the City.”
In recent months Wallace has handled a large number of business leases for companies such as Bottega Veneta (part of the Gucci group), Chez Gerard Restaurants, Caffe Uno Brasseries, Hays Recruitment and Penna Plc. On the landlord side, the firm has advised on business leases for Bourne Group, the Freshwater Group, Follett Property Holdings, Flodrive Group and Logical Properties.
In the recently release 2010 edition of Chambers UK, Wallace received particular praise for its property and property litigation teams. Editorial analysis compiled by Chambers’ independent journalists included the following commentary on Wallace: “This full-service real estate team earns praise for its efficient and direct approach. The firm covers a range of areas, including acquisitions, development, investment, property management, planning and environmental matters, construction and property litigation. Its broad client base includes The Freshwater Group and well-known property investor Tony Khalastchi and his family’s companies; the team has also attracted a number of new clients in the hotel and leisure sector. It recently advised a client on a compensation claim against the London Development Agency following the compulsory purchase of a property on the Olympic site.”