Major property swap deal completed - commercial mortgages

21 February 2008

A deal which may be the biggest ever property swap in the history of West End commerce has taken place, possibly providing a template for the kind of move which many with commercial mortgages might like to undertake on a smaller scale.

The move involved the Great Capital Partnership, a joint venture between Great Portland Estates and Capital & Counties, swapping property worth a total of £357.6 million with the Crown estates, Property Week reports.

Crown Estate''s head of Regent Street strategy David Shaw stated that the swap deal, a transaction method which represents 70 per cent of the firm''s recent transactions, has allowed it to accumulate over a million sq ft of potential development space on Regent Street

He said this potential "will be realised in mixed-use developments comprising flagship stores, modern office space and residential units, over the next decade".

Another place which may see property swaps is Leeds, where a recent study by CB Richard Ellis revealed that the take-up of office space in the city centre grew from 494,741 sq ft in 2006 to 598,165 sq ft last year, the Yorkshire Post reports.