Orion Capital Managers and Quadrant Estates today announced the exchange of contracts with publishing firm Hachette UK to take a long term lease of the whole of Carmelite Riverside,50 Victoria Embankment,  London EC4.  Hachette UK will occupy most of the 135,000 sq. ft. building, and in the new year will market two floors, amounting to just under 40,000 sq. ft. for sub-letting. Rent and lease terms are undisclosed.  

Carmelite Riverside will be completed on schedule in May 2014 following an extensive redevelopment of the original freehold building. Hachette UK employs about 1,500 people in the UK, some at locations outside London.  Its principal office is at 338 Euston Road, London NW1

Aref Lahham, Managing Director and Founding Partner of Orion Capital Managers commented:

“Carmelite Riverside has come to the market at just the right time because there is a serious shortage of self-contained mid size office buildings in the City of London. As a result we have been able to agree a pre-let of the whole building with Hachette UK, a major publishing name, and an excellent covenant for the building.”

Tristram Gethin, Managing and Founding Director of Quadrant Estates, said:

“The redevelopment of Carmelite Riverside has been a great success .  We are very proud of this superb grade A headquarters office building and securing Hachette UK ahead of completion in May 2014 . We are extremely pleased to have such a well-known and respected company moving in to Carmelite Riverside; they will enjoy one of the best locations in central London with unrivalled river views and  one of London’s most spectacular roof terraces.”

Hachette UK’s Chief Executive Tim Hely Hutchinson said:

“Carmelite Riverside is a beautiful building in a great location on a spectacular stretch of the Thames.  The building is being developed to the highest standard in a way that signals creativity and good design, both key components in our search for a new London headquarters. It will be a wonderful building to work in and to visit.”

Orion III European 20 S.a r.l   purchased the building- the former Daily Mail HQ – in July 2012 and appointed Quadrant Estates as its development manager.  The partially Grade II listed building at 50 Victoria Embankment, EC4, was sold as a vacant building by clients of Aberdeen Asset Management.

The building was rebranded Carmelite Riverside and is undergoing an extensive redevelopment lead by Quadrant Estates with contractor Morgan Sindall. Designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, the refurbished building now offers 135,000 sq ft of office space with 20,000 sq ft office floor plates, and a spectacular 7,600 sq ft roof terrace overlooking the Thames.

Knight Frank and CBRE acted for Orion Capital Managers and Quadrant Estates and Jones Lang LaSalle acted for Hachette UK.

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Orion Capital Managers, L.L.P. ("Orion") is a European real estate investment firm formed in 1999. Its business is commercial real estate investment management on behalf of major investors from around the world.

Orion invests in the full spectrum of commercial real estate in Europe, including direct assets, listed companies, private companies, and real estate debt.

Orion has offices in London, Madrid, Milan and Paris and is wholly owned by its Founding Partners Aref H. Lahham, Van J. Stults, and Bruce C. Bossom who have worked as a cohesive management team for over 20 years. Prior to forming Orion, the Partners established LaSalle Investment Management in Europe.

Orion is experienced, proactive and well positioned having created Orion European Real Estate Funds I, II, III and IV and the core fund, Orion Income Return Partners, with  €10 billion of investment capacity,  the Orion Funds target a wide range of real estate investments throughout Europe.

Contact: Richard Aylwin 020 7832 6450 / 07966 018252   richard@aylwincom.co.uk

Quadrant Estates strategy is to generate strong investor returns through intelligent asset selection and effective asset management. The firm’s current portfolio has a gross value of circa £1 billion and includes :-

• 480,000 sq ft of prime City Office developments
• 610,000 sq ft of retail warehousing
• 22 acre mixed use development in Portsmouth
• Eureka Park a 100 acre office and mixed use development in Ashford, Kent.

  www.quadrantestates.com

Contact:

Rebecca Cockman Goodford
07771 548 999
becky@sidecarcommunications.co.uk

Claire Barry
07795 672706
Claire@sidecarcommunications.co.uk

Hachette UK is one of the largest and most diverse publishing groups in the UK and Commonwealth and includes the UK-based publishing companies: Hachette Children’s Books; Headline Publishing Group; Hodder & Stoughton and John Murray Press; Hodder Education; Little, Brown Book Group, Octopus Publishing Group and Orion Publishing Group together with international companies Hachette Australia, Hachette New Zealand, Hachette India and Hachette Ireland and sales offices in Asia (Hong Kong) and the Middle East (Dubai). www.hachette.co.uk

Contact:

Clare Harington
020 7873 6108  /  07778810764
clare.harington@hachette.co.uk