One of the largest developers in China is set to make its UK debut with the £270m purchase of Christchurch Court, EC4.
Hong Kong-listed Shimao Property, owned by billionaire Hui Wing Mau, has emerged as the buyer of the 300,000 sq ft building on Paternoster Square, several months after originally going under offer.
It has exchanged contracts to buy the Goldman Sachs-occupied building from Deka Immobilien but the deal is not expected to complete until later this year.
Shimao has around £18.9bn of property assets under management. Deka bought Christchurch Court in 2003 for £196m, a 6.5% yield.
Goldman’s 20-year lease on the building expires in 2020.
It pays £48 per sq ft for the space but has a rent review this year.
The company has already sublet around 40,000 sq ft in the building to Informa and is expected to reduce its occupation further following the completion of its new 800,000 sq ft headquarters development just off Fleet Street where demolition is almost complete.
Shimao’s portfolio is predominantly residential; however, it is also active in commercial property and it has a six-strong portfolio of hotels.
The company is the latest in a series of major Chinese corporates that have sought to diversify their investments globally in the wake of the slowdown in its domestic real estate market.
Like many in its peer group it has suffered from the downturn; however, it successfully issued $800m (£520.9m) of bonds at the start of this month, despite widespread investor fears sparked by the missed bond
payment of rival Kaisa Group in January.
CBRE and Savills advise Deka; BNP Paribas Real Estate is acting for Shimao.
