Great Portland Estates JV secures Old Street pre-let

The Great Ropemaker Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture between Great Portland Estates and Ropemaker Properties, has pre-let 98,100 sq ft in its new development at 160 Old Street, EC1, to Turner Broadcasting System Europe.

The UK-based operation of Turner, the entertainment, sports and news subsidiary of Time Warner, will occupy the lower ground to third floor of the building on four separate fifteen-year leases. The company will pay a rent in line with the September 2017 ERV and a market consistent incentive package.

In addition, GRP has granted Turner options until March 2018 to either lease an additional 12,600 sq ft, or to lease the whole 18,430 sq ft, on the fourth floor at a predetermined rent. It also has an option to hand back around 8,200 sq ft on the third floor.

Great Portland chief executive Toby Courtauld said: "We are excited to be working with Turner to create their new London headquarters at 160 Old Street. This pre-letting to such a significant global company is a strong endorsement of the quality of our development, securing 58% of the gross development value four months ahead of completion."

Giorgio Stock, president of Turner EMEA, said: "This is an exciting move for us putting us at the heart of a vibrant community from which we will continue to operate our growing media businesses."

At 1000 GMT, the shares were down 1.2% to 652.50p.