A deal worth a total of £146 million before costs has seen the investment firm take control of 216,000 square feet of office space, 24,000 square feet of retail space and 11,000 square feet currently being used as a cinema.
Contracts have been exchanged for the site, which covers 2.1 acres along Tottenham Court Road and Stephen Street on the western side of central London.
Global operators FremantleMedia and Ascent Media are among the businesses currently occupying the high-value London office space, which is expected to deliver around £8 million in annual rental income.
The deal takes Derwent London’s overall real estate holdings in the West End area of the capital to almost 1.5 million square feet, and the company has noted the refurbishment and improvement potential its latest acquisition will offer going forward.
“We are delighted to have acquired Central Cross, which is an excellent addition to our central London portfolio,” said the company’s chief executive, John Burns.
“This acquisition provides strong income at economic rental levels, together with opportunities for active management, future refurbishment and improvement of the office space which Derwent specialises in.”
Mr Burns went on to suggest that the planned Crossrail developments across England’s southeast should help boost footfall at its Tottenham Court retail units.
Crossrail is a multi-billion-pound investment that will see rail links connecting London’s West End with the City of London, Canary Wharf and Heathrow Airport.
Editor’s notes: The first phase of the office refurbishment comprised 114,000 square feet, and this was delivered between the end of 2013 and 2016.
The retail units were branded as Tottenham Court Walk and refurbished and extended in 2015, attracting high-profile tenants including Hotel Chocolat, Planet Organic and Waterstones.
In the same year, the landlord let 16,150 square feet of office space on the 9th and 10th floors to AnaCap Financial Partners for £80 per square foot per annum.
In 2023, Derwent London continued to enhance the property’s ESG credentials by improving the energy efficiency of the building through the installation of new low-energy heat pump systems and window improvements and adding further amenities for occupants.
Crossrail was branded as the Elizabeth Line in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and officially opened in May 2022.
Research in June 2026 found that Derwent London had, in March 2026, pre-let the entirety of the 136,300 square feet of office space in its Network scheme in Fitzrovia to AI company Databricks on a 15-year lease in one of London’s largest office deals of Q1.
In May, Derwent London reported a strong first quarter of 2026 with £25.3 million in new leases and renewals and exchanging on £278 million in property disposals as part of a strategic three-year £1 billion recycling target.
At the time, Derwent London was the largest London office-focused Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with 61 principal properties, totalling 5.3 million square feet, across 13 central London locations.