The Property Ticker: GPE; Derwent London; AI companies on track to lease 1m sqft of London offices this year; Copley Point buys B&Q Swindon distribution hub for £58m...and more

Research evidence excerpt

The Property Ticker: GPE; Derwent London; AI companies on track to lease 1m sqft of London offices this year; Copley Point buys B&Q Swindon distribution hub for £58m...and more

and 240k sq ft currently under offer. The trend reflects

rapid expansion of AI research, engineering and commercial teams, with firms

increasingly moving from flexible space into large, long-term headquarters, adding

demand pressure to an already undersupplied prime office market.Activity has been led

by several major transactions, including Anthropic (158k sq ft at Regent’s Place),

Databricks (137k sq ft at Network W1) and OpenAI (89k sq ft at Regent Quarter), which

together accounted for 58% of H1 AI take-up. However, demand is broadening beyond

a handful of large deals, with growing leasing activity across AI companies of different

sizes. Clustering around King’s Cross, Euston and Fitzrovia highlights the importance of

access to talent, universities and research ecosystems, while increasing competition for

scarce Grade A office space is expected to support rental growth in London’s strongest

submarkets. (Source: CoStar)

• Copley Point buys B&Q Swindon distribution hub for £58 million: Copley Point

acquired B&Q’s 375k sq ft Swindon distribution hub from Marq Logistics for ~£58m,

reflecting a 5.3% NIY and marking the largest single-let investment transaction

completed in Q2. The asset forms part of the G-Park logistics scheme in Swindon, where

B&Q also operates an 850k sq ft regional distribution centre. The deal, undertaken

alongside JV partner Sixth Street, further expands Copley Point’s UK logistics exposure

following its recent acquisitions of Co-op’s Avonmouth distribution facility (£53.5m)

and a five-asset logistics portfolio from Barings for ~£100m. (Source: CoStar)