South Korea’s KB Securities has swooped in on office block One Cabot Square in Canary Wharf, E14.
It has placed the building under offer having agreed to pay £460m for the 20-storey property, reflecting a yield of around 4.65%.
KB Securities is one of 12 subsidiaries of KB Financial Group. Founded in 2008, KB Financial Group is a financial conglomerate that owns banks including KB Kookmin Bank and is listed on the Korea Stock Exchange in Seoul.
The Qatar Investment Authority and Brookfield acquired the building in 2012 for £325m, but have been looking to sell it for over two and a half years, having instructing CBRE and JLL to find a buyer in early 2016.
The building is the UK headquarters of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which has more than 15 years left on its lease at the 550,000 sq ft building.
South Korean investors have been piling into the central London property market this year off the back of a currency advantage and regulatory changes that have made it easier for them to invest abroad, as well as increased interest rates in the US, tightening yields in mainland Europe, and the availability of cheap debt.
The country’s pension giant the National Pension Service of Korea is leading the race to acquire Goldman Sachs’ £1.3bn new London headquarters at 40 Shoe Lane, EC1.
Earlier this year Samsung SRA, the real estate investment arm of the Korean conglomerate, completed a £315m deal in January to buy 200 Aldersgate, EC1. And Seoul-headquartered investment firm Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of Asia’s largest independent financial services groups, made its debut UK investment last month through its investment firm Mirae Asset Daewoo, with the £248m acquisition of Cannon Bridge House, EC4.
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