A consortium of investors has purchased the £1bn Bankside scheme on London’s South Bank for £308m.
Native Land is leading the Asian consortium to buy the 1.4m sq ft project from Carlyle Group, as tipped by Estates Gazette.
Also represented in the consortium are Singaporean investors Temasek and Hotel Properties – run by the family behind Mulberry.
The project has planning for a 489-home development, comprising nine buildings of up to 48 storeys.
Plans involve the demolition of the current Ludgate House office building – former headquarters of publishing company UBM – once it has secured vacant possession.
Construction of the next phase will start once there is vacant possession of the Sampson House site in June 2018
It would be Native Land’s latest scheme on the South Bank after last month it teamed up with Singapore-listed Hwa Hong Corporation to buy 15,000 sq ft of shops at NEO Bankside. It already has another scheme on the same site.
Carlyle bought Ludgate House, Sampson House and Alban Gate, part of the White Tower Portfolio, from Simon Halabi’s collapsed property empire, paying £671m in June 2010.
Knight Frank is advising Carlyle.
Native Land chief executive Alasdair Nicholls said: “The consortium which has been assembled to deliver the project represents the best in international development and funding expertise. We are confident that we can deliver a major new destination for London, adding to the strong foundations already laid in the Bankside area.”
Carlyle Group managing director Mark Harris said: “Since acquiring these two properties in 2010 Carlyle has successfully laid the foundations for the transformation of this important part of the South Bank area,
“Ludgate House and Sampson House are the last two properties from the WhiteTower portfolio of six assets we acquired in 2010 and this transaction marks the conclusion of what has been a very successful investment on behalf of our investors.”
Native Land intends to deliver the project in phases, with the first phase including a 49-storey tower comprising 211 flats fronting the River Thames.
The subsequent phase will deliver a grade-A office building, with later phases including the redevelopment of Sampson House, which is currently leased to IBM until 2025 but with a mutual break option in June 2018.
