LONDON-Spanish fashion retailer Zara has signed a deal with Development Securities to take a 35,000-sq flagship store in DevSecs' development at 333 Oxford Street, on the corner of Oxford Street and New Bond Street in London's West End.

LONDON-Morley Fund Management has bought the St James Retail Park near Harrogate in North Yorkshire from the specialist out-of-town property fund Hercules Unit Trust. The deal reflects a yield of 6.75%.

LONDON-Countryside Properties and Liberty Property Trust have pre-let Aymer House, a 47,461-sf office building in Chertsey, Surrey to Compass Group in one of the few substantial office lettings around the M25 so far this year.

LONDON-Lehman Brothers has bought a 23.5% stake in the consortium led by Brack Capital that has made an agreed bid for Haslemere, the Dutch-registered UK property company.

LONDON-Le Meridien UK & Ireland has put six former Principal hotels on the market through Atis Real Weatheralls. Following the merger of the two portfolios it was found that he six did not match Le Meridien's core specification.

LONDON-UK property is now the best performing asset class over one, two, three, four and five years according to Jones Lang LaSalle. At the end of March 2002 property was producing an annual returns of 7.8%, better than either equities or bonds.

LONDON-Prime investment yields are set to fall further despite weaknesses in the occupational markets according to FPDSavills. Cheap borrowing costs and more competition are driving down cap rates.

LONDON-Encouraged by faster-than-expected lettings at the initial 330,000-sf phase of its PaddingtonCentral development in London's West End, Development Securities plans to start work on the 800,000-sf second phase next year.