Crosstree Real Estate Partners has been named as the winning bidder for Aviva Investors’ Berkeley Complex, W1.
Crosstree, which is backed by Ernesto Bertarelli, the Swiss pharmaceutical billionaire, is understood to have now acquired the 186,000sq ft complex at 1-3 Berkeley Street, for £155m – a 3.8% yield.
It paid some £20m over the £130-£135m guidance price.
The contract exchange comes a week after Crosstree went under offer for the prime Mayfair asset, beating the other frontrunner, Hong Kong-based private equity firm Joint Treasure.
It is understood that Crosstree purchased the development “looking at horizons beyond the short term”.
Selling agent Jones Lang LaSalle marketed the block as a development opportunity, with potential for a new five-star hotel, plus flats and offices, as leases on the complex expire in 2019. CBRE advised the purchaser.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
