W Real Estate became proud freehold asset owners of prime Clapham Junction property 'Arding and Hobbs.' The Grade II-listed building was acquired from British Land for a price of GBP48 million, according to Property Funds World.
Sascha Lewin, managing director of the developer and asset managing firm, said that the acquisition is completely in line with the company's philosophy. W Real Estate had seen itself the proprietor of a top-quality real estate in London's core locations. As for the historic 'Arding and Hobbs' department store building, it sits within central Clapham Junction, a busy retail hub. The asset managers couldn't be any happier with the acquisition.
Stories of London shared interesting facts about the Clapham Junction structure. It was an association between Henry Arding and James Hobbs that gave rise to the department store building. The two first partnered for a 'Draper's Shop,' located on Fairfield (North) street and followed it up with an establishment build in Battersea.
When 'Arding and Hobbs' was conceptualized, the site that Mr. Arding chose-Clapham Junction-was a low population area. Mr. Arding, according to stories, was said to look toward the potential of the area. As Clapham Junction was a place where many railroad lines connected, he believed that the area would soon need an emporium. He cited the impending increase of population as a major reason behind the need for what would become the future 'Arding and Hobbs' department store.
The building, according to history, was built with a £8,000 budget. It was built as a double-tier emporium with shop windows, with the ground floor frontage and sides positioned to face St. John's Road and Lavender Hill. In current times, it has been let to Debenhams Retail Plc. It has an area of around 140,000 sq ft and is considered a prime location for southwest London accommodation.
Director Richard Lunn of CBRE said that the location was the result of an effort in 'targeting core London locations.' Investor interest, he added, was evident as demand for more retail space and potential redevelopment assets stayed as strong as it had.
W Real Estate hopes that the location still bears as much weight as it had during the early days of 'Arding and Hobbs.' The area remains to have a strong appeal to people, and the population has only multiplied, making this a worthy acquisition for the asset managers.
