Newsquest Media Group Limited advised by tenant representation specialists McCalmont-Woods Real Estate LLP has taken a new lease on Queen’s House, 28 Kingsway and 55-56 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2 in London’s Midtown district from Capel House Property Trust Limited advised by Gale Priggen & Co.

Newsquest has signed a new lease on the 3,700 sq ft part 4th floor in Queen’s House, an impressive period property situated on the west side of London’s largest public square. Initially planned in 1913, development was put on hold in 1914 due to the outbreak of the First World War and the building was only subsequently completed in the early 1920s since when it has remained in the ownership of landlord Capel House ever since.

Lincoln’s Inn Fields, originally laid out in the 1630s with a brief interruption for the English Civil War (1642-1651), has long had an association with the legal sector and over the years has been home to numerous solicitor’s firms and barristers’ chambers. In Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House, the sinister solicitor to the aristocracy, Mr Tulkinghorn, has his offices in Lincoln’s Inn Fields!

Today the Square is home to some of London’s most noteworthy organisations including the London School of Economics and Political Science who also occupy space in Queen’s House and next door in a £71 million state-of-the-art building at 50 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Other notable occupiers in the Square include international public relations company Brunswick Group; the Royal College of Surgeons and the Centre for Commercial Law Studies – part of Queen Mary, University of London. The Sir John Soane’s Museum, which attracts over 100,000 visitors a year, occupies no. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the house being left untouched since the distinguished architect’s death almost 180 years ago.

Earlier, in June of this year, McCalmont-Woods advised Newsquest’s Specialist Media arm on its relocation from 30 Cannon Street, EC4 to 6,000 sq ft ‘creative style’ offices at 120 Leman Street, E1 in the heart of London’s vibrant Aldgate quarter on the east side of the City. Newsquest Specialist Media, who publish both commercial and B2B titles such as Insurance Times, Strategic Risk and Global Reinsurance amongst other brands, signed a new lease on the refurbished offices with landlord Grainmarket advised by Hall Kemp.

Lisa Isaac, Group Purchasing Manager at Newsquest said “Having met with several potential advisers, the team at McCalmont-Woods impressed us with the way they focused on our needs and brief, finding the property to fit as opposed to starting with available properties and trying to shoehorn the brief to match. We had some tough ‘asks’ and we certainly put Nick’s extensive experience and market knowledge to the test. The Specialist Media team were very pleased with the move to Leman Street and we had no hesitation in appointing McCalmont-Woods to help find our second property in Midtown; a second successful project despite the incredibly tight deadlines. Knowledgeable, jargon-free, helpful and focused, I look forward to working with McCalmont-Woods on future projects.”

Newsquest is the UK’s second largest publisher of regional and local news with a portfolio of more than 165 news brands and over 40 magazines, published in print and online. With an audience of almost 30 million users a month online and 6 million readers a week in print, Newsquest’s content is read by a substantial proportion of the UK population. Newsquest employs over 1,000 experienced media sales people that help local businesses promote their products and services to local audiences. Newsquest is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. the largest news publisher in the United States whose assets include USA Today and USA Weekend. Gannett is listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol “GCI”.

Faced with the imminent expiry of its office lease in 33 Grosvenor Place, Belgravia, Hartree Partners (UK) Limited turned to tenant representation specialists McCalmont-Woods Real Estate LLP for help in finding a new London office space.

Working to a tight timetable and with Victoria offices in scarce supply, McCalmont-Woods successfully identified and negotiated a new lease on 11,300 sq ft Grade A space at Cardinal Place, 100 Victoria Street, SW1 with landlord, Land Securities.

Formerly occupied by Microsoft, the 2nd floor offices needed refurbishment and in recognition of the tight timescales involved, it was agreed that office design & build specialists’ Peldon Rose would undertake both the landlord’s Cat A works and Hartee’s own Cat B fitting-out works in order to accelerate Hartree’s move-in date.

Land Securities’ 660,000 sq ft Cardinal Place is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable sights in Victoria, the dramatic sweep of its glass facade narrowing to a single point at the corner of Bressenden Place and Victoria Street. A new entrance to the underground and north ticket hall (providing improved access between the National Rail and Tube platforms) is due to open shortly immediately opposite the entrance to Cardinal Place.

Jon O’Neill, Hartee’s Managing Director said “Nick did a great job of finding a new London office space for Hartree. We appointed him after a previous property deal fell through at a late stage, leaving us with a relatively tight timeline to find new office space. Nick worked hard and found us a great space before it got advertised on the open market. He is a good communicator and we felt very well informed throughout the whole process; we would not hesitate to use him again”.

Hartree Partners, LP is a global merchant commodities firm specializing in energy and its associated industries. Founded originally as Hess Energy Trading Company LLC (HETCO) in 1997, Hartree has a global reach spanning 10 offices and approximately 85 traders and originators. The company’s rigorous research, analytical approach, and entrepreneurial culture have contributed to its strong track record and growth over that time.

Niche London real estate agency McCalmont-Woods has advised Ipes (UK) Ltd on its expansion-led UK office headquarters relocation from Victoria to the City.

Ipes is a leading provider of outsourced services to the European Private Equity market and provides administration and depository oversight over $102bn of assets for 262 funds from 4 European offices in Guernsey, Jersey, London and Luxembourg where it currently employs a team of 181 people.

Ipes has taken 8,100 sq ft on the 9th floor of 1 Minster Court, EC3. A new 10-year lease was agreed on the newly refurbished landmark building with the landlord, Prudential Assurance, advised by CBRE and Spring4.

Nick McCalmont-Woods, CEO of McCalmont-Woods said: “Ipes occupied 3,800 sq ft in 10 Lower Grovenor Place, SW1 but its continued success meant that relocation was necessary to accommodate the growth in headcount. McCalmont-Woods was instructed to initiate a review of suitable property options across the West End, Mid Town and City office markets. A short list was whittled down with the competitive pricing and greater availability of larger floor-plates in the City coming to the fore.”

Ben Cook, Ipes (UK) Ltd Managing Director said: “Ipes has enjoyed huge growth and with our move we have created a more modern, efficient environment for staff. From shortlisting, bid submission to heads of terms McCalmont-Woods delivered excellence as always.”