Great Portland Estates buys Cityside and Challenger House in Whitechapel

Great Portland Estates has bought the freehold of land and buildings including Cityside and Challenger House in London E1 from Hermes Investment Management for £49.6m.

The 1.1 acre site sits between Aldgate to the west and the new Whitechapel Crossrail Station to the East. It is made up of Cityside House, a freehold interest in a five-storey office building, and Challenger House, which is a freehold interest in a five-storey hotel.

Cityside House is currently unoccupied and has planning consent for an additional three floors, taking the total net internal area to 76,500 square foot, while Challenger House is leased to Qbic Hotels for a further 21 years at an annual rent of £1.4m.

The site is also made of development sites, including freehold land to the rear of Cityside House, part of which has planning consent for 19,000 square feet of development, comprising hotel and residential uses.

Robin Matthews, investment director at GPE, said: "This acquisition represents an exciting opportunity for us to develop a well-designed, cost effective and prominent office building in the heart of Whitechapel, supported by a long-term income stream from Qbic Hotels, and further development sites. In addition, Whitechapel is set to benefit from significant further regeneration, including its new Crossrail station opening in late 2018."