British American Tobacco is understood to have brought in Gerald Eve and Balanced View to advise it on options for its London headquarters, including a sale and leaseback.
EG revealed in August that BAT was exploring a potential sale and leaseback of Globe House, 4 Temple Place, WC2, which it has occupied since 1998.
At the time, the company did not confirm details of the mooted sale, but market sources said it was looking for more than £250m for the property.
The firm originally prelet the entire 172,019 sq ft building from then-owner Hammerson. It subsequently acquired the freehold in 2012 for around £200m from CGI Haus Invest, according to Radius Data Exchange.
A BAT spokesperson previously told EG that discussions were at a “very early stage” and “irrespective of the outcome, [we] have no current plans to move our head office out of Globe House”.
BAT has five global cigarette brands – Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall and Rothmans – as well as three non-cigarette brands including Vuse, under which it has its vapour products. In its latest half-year results, the London-listed company reported an 18.6% year-on-year rise in pre-tax profit to £4.59bn, while total revenue nudged up 0.8% to £12.27bn.
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