Lanterns Court, Denison House (Canary Wharf) - Part 1

Denison House, Lanters Court, Canary Wharf
(page updated 9 March 2014)

We bought a very small (397 sq feet) 1 bedroom apartment at Denison House (developer was City & Docklands) near Canary Wharf in 2010.  This was an opportunistic purchase because the units were sold at fire-sale prices.  At that time, the previous owner could not complete the purchase and Colliers were trying to quickly sell off the units.  Prices looked good, units came with a confirmed Corporate Let, we jumped in.

This unit has done extremely well in terms of rental yield, bypassing Montreal House.  However, the capital appreciation has not been as great.  The reason is simple, there are many more units available in Canary Wharf area, as my pictures would show.

Tenant Profile at Denison House
So far, this has been a Corporate Let and not a private let. This means that our tenant is a corporation, and not a private individual. Our lettings agent in this case is a company called Life Residential.

Rental Acheived & Capital Appreciation 
Currently, we are getting more than 350pw for our 1 bedroom apartment, an incredible rate.  This rate is only achievable because it is a Corporate Let.  The Corporate Tenant is an international firm called Bridgestreet. Our flat can potentially fetch £300,000. Our purchase price was under £230,000.  This unit is a clear winner where rental yield is concerned.  No point selling the golden goose.

A word of caution on Corporate Lets though.  We have been burnt by these Lets before because the Lettings Agents usually do not take a deposit.  Furthermore, we had a very negative experience with an agent called CityZen Estate Agents, who promised us a Corporate Let but it didn't materialize, causing us to incur significant losses.  Make sure that your interests are fully protected if you are going for such Corporate Lets.

Word of Warning on Canary Wharf Properties for Sale
Take note, many marketing agents would like to boast that the development is at or very near Canary Wharf. We have seen marketing collateral making ludicrous claims, e.g. The Forge, Westferry Road advertisements claiming that they are 6 minutes from Canary Wharf.  If you are not on the ground, be very careful what they tell you.

Pictures
Let's get on with the pictures. On this day, I took the Tube to Canary Wharf Tube Station, and started to find my way to our flat.  Here was Canada Square.

I decided to get up to the surface to walk around, rather than go through underground passages.  These office towers look really tall.

Canary Wharf continues to do well and it is still growing.  More tall buildings coming along, so I read.

It was a very quiet day, because it was the weekend when I visited.

I come to South Quay footbridge.  (Google Maps- 51.502015, -0.020236)  Our flat is located south of Canary Wharf Tube station.  This bridge was an important link.

These flats are very near Canary Wharf.  Even then, they are not that tall.  I counted 13 storeys.  You don't see 40 storey-type HDB flats here!  This view is taken as I stand on Canary Wharf side, looking south.

Foot traffic.  The bridge was purely for foot traffic, no cars.

Alright, I have crossed the bridge.  Once crossed, the place has a much more residential feel.

Across the South Quay Bridge, looking back at Canary Wharf.  Quite intimidating yah?

All these look like residential blocks, which I am sure they are.  If you live here, you could be 3 minutes away from your office!

I keep walking, as I make my way to Denison House.  I chose to walk down Mastmaker Road.

The road sign there says Lighterman's Road.  This was my location -  51.499128, -0.021162.  I had walked down Mastmaker Road and I will be taking the road on the right.

That road was Cassilis Road.  This would bring me to Denison House.

More flats.  Compared to most other areas of London, this place has many high-rise residential apartment blocks.  Still, you can see that the high-rise is about 10 to 12 storeys.

I have reached Lanterns Way.

I have reached Denison House.  This is the main entrance.

Doorbell.  You need a key fob to enter into the reception area, where there is a 24 hr concierge.

There is the concierge.

The reception area is simple, yet elegant.  It almost feels like the lobby of a business hotel.

There is the lift (or elevator).

I will head on to our flat.  Head on to Part 2 to see more.

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