McCalmont-Woods has saved JP Morgan Cazenove circa £1m in rent by advising the investment bank on the rent review of its 16,000 sq ft office at Exchange Tower, 1 Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 against landlord, MGPA, advised by CB Richard Ellis.

The 29th September 2009 rent review on the third floor at Exchange Tower was successfully agreed in February 2011 at a revised rent of £22.00 per sq ft, equivalent to an annual saving of £168,400 on the landlord’s quoted rent of £32.50 per sq ft.

McCalmont-Woods has acquired the new UK headquarters for global communications giant Tata Communications.

The Tata Global Network includes one of the most advanced and largest submarine cable networks, a Tier-1 IP network, with connectivity to more than 200 countries across 400 PoPs, and nearly 1 million square feet of data centre and co-location space worldwide. Tata Communications’ depth and breadth of reach in emerging markets includes leadership in Indian enterprise data services, leadership in global international voice, and strategic investments in operators in South Africa (Neotel), Sri Lanka (Tata Communications Lanka Limited), and Nepal (United Telecom Limited).

McCalmont-Woods relocated Tata Communications from their previous base at Exchange Tower, 2 Harbour Exchange Square, London E14 to 20 Old Bailey, London, EC4 in the heart of the City.

The company, which is listed in India, is taking 18,685 sq ft of fully fitted offices on the first floor of 20 Old Bailey from Accenture on a new 4 year lease, inside the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, on which it is paying a highly competitive net effective rent of £11.22 per sq ft only!

Fionnula Bentley, Tata Communications HR Director said:

“Nick McCalmont Woods contacted me initially to assist him with work he was doing for another client. As a result of our initial conversation, Nick became involved is assisting Tata Communications to find new offices in London. The brief was simple, to find us as much space as possible in the best possible location for the least cost possible.
Nick has proved professional in his dealings across all levels of management and very quickly presented us with a number of viable options. The offices we finally settled on are fantastic value for money and provide an ideal environment for our employees.
I honestly do not believe we would have found our new central London location and been able to present such as strong business case to the Board without Nick’s assistance.”

McCalmont-Woods has acquired expansion space for one of Northern Europe’s leading energy groups DONG Energy, which is headquartered in Denmark.

DONG Energy has been operating in the UK since 2001, when it was granted three oil and gas exploration licences. It has a major interest in some of the largest recent discoveries in the West of Shetland region of the North Sea.

DONG Energy is also the market leader in offshore wind. It has more than 30 years experience in wind power and more than 20 years experience in developing, building and running wind farms. While the majority of its wind power capacity was originally located in Denmark, an increasing amount is derived from offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom.

DONG Energy has expanded into a further 14,483 sq ft on part of the first floor at 33 Grosvenor Place, Belgravia, London, SW1 where McCalmont-Woods negotiated a new 5.75 year sub-lease from Hess Limited at a rent of £42.50 per sq ft with a nine month rent free period.

Ruth Hart-Leverton, DONG Energy’s Chairman’s Secretariat said:

“I had the pleasure of working with Nick recently on the acquisition of an additional 14,500 sq ft in our London headquarters. Nick was instrumental in helping us to complete the contract quickly and in securing the best deal possible. I would have no hesitation in recommending Nick and would be happy to work with him again.”

Barclays Bank has brought in McCalmont-Woods to jointly advise with BNP Parisbas Real Estate on the disposal of its surplus space at Hertsmere House, West India Quay, London, E14.

McCalmont-Woods is currently marketing 4,683 sq ft on the ground floor. The accommodation is available on a new effective full repairing and insuring sub-lease for a term until April 2013 at a quoting rent of £12.50 per sq ft.

McCalmont-Woods negotiated a 75% saving for the The Newspaper Society on the proposed increase in a recent rent review on its 5,000 sq ft 8th floor offices in St. Andrew’s House, 18-20 St. Andrew Street, EC4.

Founding director Nick McCalmont-Woods said: “The new rent agreed with landlord PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP at the 29th September 2008 review date represents an uplift of just 4% on the current rent.”

Lynne Anderson, Communications Director at The Newspaper Society said: “We are all looking to keep operating cost increases to a minimum. McCalmont-Woods delivered.”

The Newspaper Society represents and promotes the interests of Britain’s regional and local media. It was founded in 1836 and is thought to be the oldest publishers’ association in the world.

Bespoke financial adviser Welbeck Wealth Management has acquired the 20,000 sq ft fourth floor at City Place House, 55 Basinghall Street, EC2. The firm’s impressive growth sees Welbeck, advised by McCalmont-Woods, taking a 7-year lease at £33.00 per sq ft.

Welbeck provides wealth management advice to over 5,000 City clients and is now part of the Openwork Network, one of the largest franchise networks of financial advisers in the country. It was previously located at 130 Wood Street, EC2.

“We need to dispose of our lease – and fast!” was how John Brutnell, General Manager at global business aviation group ExecuJet (UK) Ltd summed up his instructions to McCalmont-Woods to dispose of a surplus 2,200 sq ft of office space on Level 34, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf, E14.

Working jointly with Studley, McCalmont-Woods drew up an initial marketing report setting out the leasing options available to the existing tenant and making various recommendations to ensure a speedy disposal for ExecuJet. The lease was successfully assigned to online business news provider IB Times just two months from receipt of client instructions – a feat all the more remarkable because no formal marketing was ever undertaken!

Occupiers often complain that their agents always pursue the easiest option to get a deal done. But McCalmont-Woods has a markedly different approach. Following 12 months of extensive negotiations on behalf of Abbey Business Centres, McCalmont-Woods acquired 17,000 sq ft on the 15th floor of the iconic ‘Gherkin’ skyscraper 30 St. Mary Axe, EC3 from Swiss Re under an OMA (Operator Management Agreement).

The innovative structure of the OMA required the creation of a detailed financial model, the assumptions of which were agreed by both parties and provided the benchmark against which to measure operating success. McCalmont-Woods’ successful completion of this instruction brings the amount of business centre space in the Foster-designed landmark tower under Abbey Business Centres’ control to c.44,000 sq ft over 3 floors.

Leading specialist liability insurance provider Marketform instructed McCalmont-Woods on its 20,000 sq ft City office rent review at 8 Lloyds Avenue, EC3 in July 2009.

The instruction is seen as a valued endorsement of McCalmont-Woods’ ethos and expertise. Founding director Nick McCalmont-Woods originally acquired the building for Marketform in 2004 and sub-let part of the ground floor the following year.

Commenting on the appointment, Marketform Management Services Director James Romer-Lee said: “It is incredibly important for any business to be able to trust its consultants. McCalmont-Woods has always delivered a level of service and bespoke expertise that is difficult to find elsewhere.”

McCalmont-Woods negotiated an 83% saving for Cazenove Capital Management on the proposed increase on its 34,000 sq ft offices at 12 Moorgate, EC2 in June 2008.

Commenting on the minimal 1.5% uplift on the rent passing, Cazenove’s IT Director, Stewart Norwood said of founding director Nick McCalmont-Woods: “Throughout, his advice was clear and valuable, resulting in a very positive outcome for the firm. He combines an expert view with a commercial approach, thus making sure all options are understood, strategy agreed, then effectively implemented. He’s also extremely personable. I’d happily recommend Nick’s work to anyone.”