A €6bn (£4.7bn) Swiss headquartered private equity firm is set to make an assault on the UK market after closing in on its first direct real estate deal in London.
Partners Group is close to completing a £53m purchase of 80 Fenchurch Street, EC3, a £300m development opportunity in the heart of the City’s insurance district.
The firm – which has 18 offices around the world – has a global portfolio of directly owned commercial properties but until now has only invested in UK real estate via funds or as a buyer of debt.
Orion, which was itself in talks to buy the site in 2013, is among the fund managers through which Partners has traditionally invested in the UK.
A source said the deal highlighted Partners’ ambition to become a “more active direct real estate investor in the UK”.
The Fenchurch Street block has planning consent for a 245,182 sq ft Foster + Partners-designed office building.
It is being sold by receivers at Allsop appointed by Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency in April in conjunction with previous owner Sheildpoint, the Irish investor and developer that originally assembled the site.
Partners Group saw off competition for the block from a long list of parties including Tishman Speyer, Russian developer BFA and a joint venture between Core and Starwood.
The sale price reflects a near 65% premium to that agreed for the site during a previous auction in 2013, reflecting the resolution of various rights of light issues at the scheme and the depth of demand for City development opportunities.
Other redevelopment schemes currently on the market have also attracted big bids.
Kajima is under offer to buy 55 Moorgate, EC2, from Metroinvest for around £50m, a 10% premium to the asking price for the short-let building.
Savills and CBRE are advising on the sale of 80 Fenchurch Street; DTZ is advising Kajima; JLL is acting for Metroinvest.
