Burford - London SW1, Mayfair

Date: 16 Apr 1999

Burford Holdings plc ("Burford") today announces that planning consent has been granted for one of Mayfair's largest office developments since the war.

Westminster Council has given the go-ahead for the transformation of a key one acre island site, located midway between Berkeley Square and Piccadilly, into 24,628 sq m (265,000 sq ft) of modern Grade A office and retail space. Bounded by Berkeley Street, Stratton Street and Mayfair Place, the site will be redeveloped in two phases.

The first phase will consist of an extensively refurbished and extended building, behind a retained facade, comprising 14,405 sq m (155,000 sq ft) of office space on eight upper floors and 3,717 sq m (40,000 sq ft) of ground floor and basement level retail accommodation on Berkeley Street. This phase will get underway in July 1999 with completion scheduled for Autumn 2000 while a newly built 6,505 sq m (70,000 sq ft) office building on Stratton Street will form the second phase.

Welcoming the decision, John Anderson, Burford's Chief Executive, said: "The Berkeley Street refurbishment will be one of the West End's most striking office developments as it will feature a spectacular 60ft wide entrance and rooftop offices with floor-to-ceiling glazing and terraces overlooking Mayfair.

"50 Berkeley Street, as this first phase is known, will offer prospective tenants large floorplate sizes. Unusually for the West End, where there is an acute shortage of large scale office developments, we are providing 2,040 sq m (22,000 sq ft) floorplates capable of meeting both the size and quality of accommodation demanded by modem occupiers."

Burford acquired the freehold of Mayfair Place, as the site is known, in January 1998 for £99.75m from Norwich Union. Originally developed in the 1920's the block, close to The Ritz and Green Park, currently comprises two office and retail buildings.

Letting agents for the offices are Edward Charles & Partners and Jones Lang La Salle.

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