West End flats pull in buyers for Great Portland Estates

Great Portland Estates has surfed the capital’s buoyant property market to sell more than £70 million worth of flats in the heart of the West End in just three weeks.

GPE bought the site for Rathbone Square — its biggest-ever development — from Royal Mail in 2011, a stone’s throw from Oxford Street and the new Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station.

The company began marketing the 142 private flats in early July and has sold 46 so far for £73.1 million — surpassing the landlord’s hopes. A further 80 flats have been reserved at Rathbone Place, which will also include new offices and shops around a public square.

Finance director Nick Sanderson said UK buyers made up the biggest share of purchasers so far, although the flats had been marketed in Asia as well.

“If you have the right product in the right location, then it is selling well,” he added.

The surging value of its developments, as well as rising rents, took the value of GPE’s estate to £2.8 billion as of the end of June — up £101 million in just three months.

In a West End market where office space is at a premium, the company struck 22 new deals generating £6.1 million in rents, signing up tenants including Hunger Games producer Lionsgate, movie giant Warner Brothers and engineering consultant Rambol.

Chief executive Toby Courtauld said: “With a growing London economy and healthy demand for our limited quantity of available space, we can expect further rental and valuation growth which bodes well for our significant development programme.”

Fund giant Blackstone has bought the former home of the London Stock Exchange — 125 Old Broad Street — for £320 million from current owner Brookfield Property Partners.

In 2009, City workers had a narrow escape as a pane of glass fell from the 17th floor of the building.