Daily Mail & General Trust, the owner of the Daily Mail and Metro newspapers, has committed to a long-term 115,000-square-foot office letting at 9 Derry Street in London's Kensington, where it had taken temporary space while refurbishment works at its previous Northcliffe House home were undertaken.
Sirosa Properties, the investment vehicle of a private Germany family, bought the 9 Derry Street building as part of a three-strong portfolio in 2013 that also included the Kensington Roof Gardens complex and 25 Kensington Square from Capital Land, Genting and HPL for £224.6 million.
It is understood that Sirosa and DMGT will carry out refurbishment and improvements to amenities at 9 Derry Street after the group decided the space was its preferred option. It is thought the editorial team at the Daily Mail have preferred the space without a large atrium as per their previous home.
Daily Mail & General Trust had previously committed to its prior headquarters across the street at the former Barkers department store, which it had renamed Northcliffe House. In 2021, it cemented an 103,000-square-foot lease at the historic Barkers Building from 2024, after an agreed refurbishment by the landlord, which is also Sirosa.
The 15-year lease was struck with asset manager Willson Green, acting on behalf of Sirosa, which was advised by Knight Frank. The deal was the largest commercial office letting in West London outside central London’s West End submarket in 2021 and it cut Daily Mail's occupation at the building from 160,000 square foot.
The Barkers Building, which has been home to DMGT since 1988, is a listed building that is being redeveloped to create a more sustainable, modern office building. The design will reflect the building’s Art Deco heritage and introduces a roof terrace, cafe and retail space.
Daily Mail group staff first moved into 9 Derry Street on Kensington High Street on a temporary lease in 2022. The Daily Mail was to move back into The Barkers Building in the second quarter of 2024, taking the fourth, fifth and sixth floors.
The remaining 150,000 square foot of lettable office space on floors 1-3 of The Barkers Building is also undergoing a complete refurbishment, with works due for completion in the second quarter of 2024. The building is located on Kensington High Street at the corner of Hyde Park.
Knight Frank, Savills and CBRE are agents on the building. Devono advised Daily Mail & General Trust.