Developer buys south London office for £38m

Derwent is preparing for a major development in south London after snapping up a former council office in Brixton for £38m.

The developer has said it can achieve vacant possession of Blue Star House in the next few years and is planning to turn the 11-storey building into a significantly larger scheme.

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The 1960s building (pictured), which was once owned by Lambeth council, currently includes office space, and a Nando’s restaurant on the ground floor, along with two vacant floors.

The 53,750ft2 building sits on a site that includes a car park and is opposite the Brixton O2 Academy.

Derwent chief executive Paul Williams said: “With its excellent connectivity to the West End, we see this as an exciting addition to our substantial development pipeline.”

The firm recently sold its 40 Chancery Lane building to Deka, the German property giant which bought Facebook’s European headquarters on London’s Rathbone Square three years ago.

Derwent has a number of schemes on the go including Laing O’Rourke’s £195m deal to build a new mixed-use scheme above the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station in central London.

And Skanska is also set to start on the £58m Featherstone Building office scheme near Old Street roundabout.