Mayfair Capital has secured a £56.25m loan from DekaBank against its Bonhill Building, EC2.
Swiss Life-owned Mayfair Capital bought the building, at 15 Bonhill Street, from L&G for £110m last summer. The 112,865 sq ft office building was refurbished in 2017 and is fully let to six tenants, including retailer Crabtree & Evelyn.
Mayfair Capital fund manager Giles King said: “To have closed a loan of this size on an office building in central London in the middle of the coronavirus lockdown is no small feat – and is a testament to the tireless work from both parties.”
Chris Bennett, head of DekaBank’s London branch, said: “The challenges of concluding this financing predominantly in a ‘home office’ environment were matched by pragmatism and determination on both sides and it is very pleasing to have added a high-quality loan and relationship to our loan portfolio.”
In a webinar last week, Tom Duncan, Mayfair Capital’s senior research analyst, said corporate occupiers are likely to stick with their traditional city centre offices once the coronavirus pandemic passes, despite talk of more decentralised real estate strategies coming to the fore.
“City centres offer a holistic mix of employment, retail and leisure uses, and clusters of clients, industry colleagues and friends,” Duncan said. “They will thus be more appealing for most workers compared to suburban office markets even if they involve a longer commute.”
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