EG’s most-read and must reads: 18-22 March

Here’s a Friday wrap-up of some of our most popular stories from the past week. First up, how much do office occupiers really care about the environmental credentials of their buildings?The consensus at an Avison Young panel discussing the topic at last week’s MIPIM was not much at all, at least in the case of smaller companies. “It’s a priority for the investors, it’s a priority for the capital markets, and it’s absolutely paramount for anything that you’re looking to sell into the market today. But it’s just not there for the for the underlying occupiers, especially those smaller guys,” said Elliot Prosser, an executive director at JP Morgan Asset Management.Office owners grapple with whether ESG is ‘on the radar’ for tenants JLL sees ‘green tipping point’ for ESG and leases Getting ESG on occupiers’ agenda – regardless of their size  British Land has struck a deal to sell half of its 1 Triton Square office block (pictured) to Royal London Asset Management. The joint venture will reposition the building as life sciences space. EG’s Evelina Grecenko broke the news at MIPIM, with the FTSE 250 REIT confirming it on the stock exchange this week.Royal London takes 50% stake in BL’s £400m Triton Square British Land confirms sale of 1 Triton Square stake  The British Property Federation has said housing secretary Michael Gove has misunderstood “how our cities work” after he intervened in the proposed London Plan. Gove said 1,818 acres of industrial land could potentially be turned into housing developments but are being hampered by the planning system. Sam Bensted, assistant policy director for planning and development at the BPF, said the idea that employment uses could be relocated outside the M25 to free up land for new homes “fundamentally misunderstands how our cities work”.Gove ‘misunderstands how cities work’, says BPF  Legal & General is close to signing for a new London headquarters at Stanhope’s Woolgate Exchange, where it would occupy 130,000-140,000 sq ft. The company appointed JLL to help it downsize to 150,000 sq ft in the City core submarket, as it is approaching a lease expiry on its 200,000 sq ft at One Coleman Street. Another EG scoop from MIPIM, this time from Chanté Bohitige.L&G nears deal for new London HQ  Over on the Radius rankings, the top contributing agency by number of deals last week was JLL, followed by Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers. Deal Watch: Colliers’ McManus lands five but JLL pips rivals on deal count  Other stories you might have missed: GPE’s plan for property and the circular economy takes shape Crest Nicholson finds defects on four sites Swiss Life sets sights on doubling £130m UK self-storage fund The cities with the biggest flex take-up Former IPSX chief executive sets up advisory firm Hines reworks plans for Soho office block Tap into £1.1bn self-storage sector with flat-pack system Freshwater to submit revised plans for City tower