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Derwent London PLC on Thursday said it struck new lettings agreements in the first-quarter of the year, amid a ‘strengthening in occupational demand’ for its assets. The London-based property investor and developer said it inked new leases totalling £5.4 million since the start of 2024, and said a further £4.3 million is under offer. For the first quarter alone, Derwent London reported £2.4 million in lettings, at an average of 9.2% above the December estimated rental value. In the second quarter so far, there has been £3.0 million of lettings. Derwent said the EPRA vacancy rate improved to 3.7% as of the end of March from 4.0% at the end of 2023. It added: ‘58% of space available to occupy at December 2023 has either been leased or is under offer, with good ongoing interest in the balance.’ Chief Executive Paul Williams added: ‘We are seeing further strengthening in occupational demand for our well-located, design-led buildings. Rental growth has increased as demonstrated by our leasing performance against [estimated rental value]. As part of our strategy of capital recycling, we were pleased to agree the sale of Turnmill above book value, with proceeds to be re-invested into our higher returning West End regeneration pipeline.’ Derwent last month announced the sale of the Turnmill building in the Clerkenwell area of central London for £77.4 million before costs to investment manager Titan Investors. Shares in the company traded 0.7% lower at 2,202.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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