Avanta signs West End deal and joins corporate outsourcing jv

Bridget O''Connell 26/03/2007 12:30

Serviced office company Avanta has added another property to their growing portfolio and entered a corporate outsourcing joint venture.

The company has exchanged contracts on its sixth West End building taking its total property count up to nine.

Avanta has taken an 8-year lease on the 28,000 sq ft block at 271 Regent Street from landlord Norwich Union.

No price was given but market speculation puts rents in the area at around £45 per sq ft.

The company has four more deals in legals, with two more city locations as well as one in West London and one in the Thames Valley , which are due to complete within a month.

The group has also joined property asset management company The Asset Factor to offer a new service to corporate occupiers by taking on their leasehold liabilities and managing vacant space as a serviced office .

Insurance giant Prudential has enlisted the jv to undertake a review of its Reading property portfolio and has already handed over the lease of a 22,000 sq ft surplus building.

The jv is also in negotiations with a major US corporate which has two buildings in London’s West End.

Oliver Jones, chief executive of The Asset Factor said: "Helping major corporates in the UK align their property portfolios with their changing business strategy is exactly why we established The Asset Factor.

"One of our tools is giving businesses certainty in resolving their leasehold liabilities through the use of our balance sheet and by creating alternative marketing strategies for buildings."

David Alberto, CEO of Avanta , said: "We were delighted to work with The Asset Factor to extend further our offer to corporate clients such as the Prudential."