- Derwent London
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Derwent London 
Type Public (LSE: DLN) Industry Property Founded 1913 Headquarters London, UK Key people Robbie Rayne, Chairman
John Burns, CEO
Simon Silver, Director and head of RegenerationRevenue £121.1 million (2010)[1] Operating income £394.7 million (2010)[1] Net income £355.4 million (2010)[1] Website www.derwentlondon.com Derwent London (LSE: DLN) is a leading British-based property investment and development business. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Contents
History
The business was originally established as the operator of the Derwent Valley Light Railway which railway dates back to 1913.[2] The railway closed in the 1981 and in 1984 John Burns used the former operating company, Derwent Valley Holdings, as the vehicle with which to develop his London-based property business. In 2007 the company merged with London Merchant Securities plc to form Derwent London.[3] This deal was hailed as "the deal of the decade" by the editor of Property Week.[4] In July 2007 the company converted to a real estate investment trust.[5]
Operations
The Group is organised as one business - property investment and development. At 31 December 2010 its portfolio was valued at £2.4bn.[1]
Property portfolio
The company has properties all over central London but is focussed on the West End.[6] The company divides its portfolio up into "London Villages" [7]
Fitzrovia portfolio
From the merger with London Merchant Securities the company acquired 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of property to add to its existing Fitzrovia portfolio.[8] This gave the company about 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of property over more than 30 sites in Fitzrovia; about one fifth of the company's total portfolio. In November 2009 the company announced plans to transform part of Fitzrovia in central London into a new retail destination with cafes and restaurants.[9][10][11] An exhibition was opened in Whitfield Street W1 to showcase the company's plans [12] and the company produced a brochure entitled Your Fitzrovia.[13] The company's plans were criticised in the local paper Fitzrovia News who accused the company of wanting to change the character of the neighbourhood.[14]
In April 2010 the company stated in their annual report that they were moving ahead with plans to redevelop the Saatchi & Saatchi building in Charlotte Street, and backing a business initiative called the Fitzrovia Partnership.[15] In July 2010 they held an exhibition outlining their proposals for the Saatchi building. Fitzrovia News reported that Camden Council had confirmed that the Fitzrovia Partnership[16] was intending to become a Business Improvement District (BID).[17]
In July 2010 the company bought the Central Cross office block on Tottenham Court Road, "a 2.1 acre (0.85 ha) site, the 251,000 sq ft (23,300 sq m) freehold property comprises 216,000 sq ft (20,100 sq m) of offices, 24,000 sq ft (2,200 sq m) of ground floor retail space fronting onto Tottenham Court Road and an 11,000 sq ft (1,000 sq m) cinema." The company then claimed to own 1,500,000 square feet (140,000 m2) of property in Fitzrovia.[18]
The Turnmill Building Farringdon
In 2009 the company's plans to demolish Farringdon’s famous Turnmill building were turned down by London Borough of Islington after a campaign to save the building by local people. The company wanted to replace the 19-century stables building with a glass and steel tower block. The company then appealed to the planning inspectorate, but their appeal was refused.[19] In August the company stated: "The planning environment in central London remains challenging and we were disappointed in May to lose a planning appeal for a new-build scheme at Turnmill in Clerkenwell. We are revising our plans and expect to submit an application for a 6,300m2 (68,000 sq ft) scheme before the end of the year."[20]
Awards
The company has received numerous awards for business and design.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d Annual Report 2010
- ^ The Derwent London trend that bucks the market
- ^ London Merchant swept off feet by Derwent's offer
- ^ Barrie’s blog: winners and losers of the 'noughties'
- ^ Press release 26 June 2007
- ^ Derwent London - London Villages accessed 7 March 2010
- ^ Derwent London - London Villages accessed 7 March 2010
- ^ Derwent London Fitzrovia portfolio
- ^ Project banks on Fitzrovia’s bohemian appeal By Daniel Thomas, Property Correspondent, Financial Times, November 6 2009 accessed 6 March 2010
- ^ Derwent plots Fitzrovia revamp 06.11.09 By Jennifer Rigby, Property Week, accessed 6 March 2010
- ^ London Evening Standard accessed 6 March 2010
- ^ Derwent London Fitzrovia Exhibition accessed 6 March 2010
- ^ Your Fitzrovia, 2009 Derwent London, accessed 6 March 2010
- ^ Plan to turn "little oasis" into retail precinct, Fitzrovia News, 24 November 2009 accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Derwent London Annual Report 2009, page 23 accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Fitzrovia Partnership, accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Derwent London believe nothing is impossible in Fitzrovia, 12 July 2010, accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Derwent London, accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Turnmill building saved from demolition, Islington Tribune, 28 May 2010 accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ Derwent London, Interim Results, June 2010 accessed 18 September 2010
- ^ derwentlondon.com accessed 6 March 2010
External links
Categories:- Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
- Companies established in 1913
- Real estate investment trusts of the United Kingdom
- Property companies based in London
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