FORE sells London development to leading charity for €72.1 mln (UK)

FORE Partnership, has sold its highly-sustainable, speculative office project by the River Thames in central London for £50.95 mln (approx. €72.1 mln).
Nesta, a charity with a mission to support innovation for the public good, has acquired the building, VIEW 58 at 58 Victoria Embankment on the north bank of the Thames in Midtown, for its own occupation. When completed in August 2016, VIEW 58 will provide 48,000 ft² (approx. 4,460 m²) of Grade-A office space and is being delivered by FORE with its joint venture partner, Kier Property.
Nesta will use the building as its headquarters, moving from its current office at Plough Place in the City of London. In addition to providing space for its own staff, Nesta will use part of the building to create an innovation hub, providing high-quality, flexible office and collaboration space for organisations that share its mission.
The development has been sensitively designed by architect, TP Bennett, to retain the historic feel of the façade, while providing a contemporary, highly-functional office environment behind it. Each floor opens into a central atrium and has exposed lifts and walkways.
Nesta was especially attracted to the building’s fully-integrated vision on sustainability, which encompasses design, placemaking and community engagement as well as traditional carbon-reduction features.
The building incorporates a number of technologies not seen before in the UK, such as solar photovoltaic panels that generate power from both the top and underside of the panels. During the planning process for the development, FORE operated the building as a charity hub with 24 non-profit organisations occupying the building for more than a year at no cost. Some 99% of demolition waste was diverted from landfills and was recycled. The building is also designed to exceed BREEAM’s ‘Excellent’ sustainability rating.
Ingleby Trice advised FORE on the sale and Nesta was advised by CBRE. Letting agents were Savills and Ingleby Trice.
Source: FORE Partnership