Derwent London is a British-based property investment and development business. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the

FTSE 250 Index The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...

History

The business was originally established as the operator of the

Derwent Valley Light Railway The Derwent Valley Light Railway (DVLR) (also known as The Blackberry Line) was a privately owned standard-gauge railway in North Yorkshire, England, and was unusual in that it was never nationalised, remaining as a private operation all its ...

which opened in 1913. The railway closed in 1981 and in 1984

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

used the former operating company, ''Derwent Valley Holdings'', as the vehicle with which to develop his London-based property business. It joined the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Europe index on 31 December 1999 when it was launched, trading under the name Derwent Valley Holdings. In 2007 the company merged with ''London Merchant Securities plc'' to form ''Derwent London''. This deal was hailed as "the deal of the decade" by the editor of Property Week. In July 2007 the company converted to a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

Operations

The Group is organised as one business – property investment and development. At 31 December 2021 its portfolio was valued at £5.4bn.

Fitzrovia portfolio

From the merger with London Merchant Securities the company acquired of property to add to its existing

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

portfolio. This gave the company about of property over more than 30 sites in Fitzrovia; about one fifth of the company's total portfolio. In November 2009 the company announced plans to transform part of Fitzrovia in central London into a new retail destination with cafes and restaurants. The company's plans were criticised in the local paper

Fitzrovia News The ''Fitzrovia News'' is a free community newspaper produced by volunteers living and working in Fitzrovia, London, United Kingdom. It is an example of what has been called hyperlocal media or community journalism. It is notable because it is "on ...

who accused the company of wanting to change the character of the neighbourhood. In July 2010 the company held an exhibition outlining its proposals for the Saatchi building in Charlotte Street: Fitzrovia News reported that Camden Council had confirmed that the Fitzrovia Partnership was intending to become a Business Improvement District (BID).

The Turnmill Building Farringdon

In 2009 the company's plans to demolish Farringdon's famous

Turnmills The Turnmills building was a warehouse originally on the corner of Turnmill Street and Clerkenwell Road in the London Borough of Islington. It became a bar in the 1980s, then a nightclub. The club closed in 2008 and the building was later demol ...

were turned down by

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

after a campaign to save the building by local people. The company wanted to replace the 19th-century stables building with a glass and steel tower block. The company then appealed to the planning inspectorate, but their appeal was refused. Subsequently, a revised planning application was granted approval and work on the new building commenced in April 2012. This will create a 70,000 sq ft office and retail property close to the new

Farringdon station Farringdon is a London Underground and connected main line National Rail station in Clerkenwell, central London. The station is in the London Borough of Islington, just outside the boundary of the City of London. Opened in 1863 as the terminu ...

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...

interchange.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Real estate companies established in 1913 Real estate investment trusts of the United Kingdom Property companies based in London 1913 establishments in England Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange