Credit Suisse Asset Management is close to selling Tower Bridge House, E1, in one of the largest off-market deals this summer.
Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund has put the 185,000 sq ft office block, formerly known as K2, under offer for about £140m, reflecting a yield of 5.2%.
EPF is in talks to buy the property from CS Euroreal, a German open-ended fund run by Credit Suisse.
EPF is understood to be buying the property direct, rather than through ING Real Estate Investment Management or RREEF, which share EPF’s joint mandate to invest up to £2bn in property across the UK.
The Richard Rogers-designed building forms a gateway to the 22.4-acre St Katherine Docks estate adjacent to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
A source said: “EPF is emerging as one of the most formidable investors in central London. It has been on the bidding list for just about every large asset to hit the market in the City in recent months, and has hundreds of millions of pounds left to invest.”
Last month, the Malaysian fund placed 11-12 St James’s Square, SW1, under offer for about £150m. In January, it bought 65 Fleet Street, EC4, from Union Investment for £148m – a 5.75% yield – in another off-market deal.
CS Euroreal has attempted to sell Tower Bridge House before. It put the property on the market in 2007, two months after it became fully let, with an asking price of £155m – a 4.66% yield. However, no sale materialised and the office was withdrawn from the market.
The fund bought Tower Bridge House from REIT Asset Management for £125m in 2004.
In June, F&C REIT and Area Property Partners sold a portfolio of properties on the St Katherine Docks estate to Nick Leslau’s Max Property Group for £156.3m. The five-building portfolio comprises 450,000 sq ft of offices and 50,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants.
james.buckley@estatesgazette.com
