Islamic asset manager Amiri Capital is in talks to make one of its first major UK buys with a £105m (€124.3m) purchase of an asset overlooking one of London’s royal parks.
The Sharia-compliant investor is backing UK luxury residential developer Great Marlborough Estates to buy the 12,077 m2 office building Park Crescent West, next to Regent’s Park.
Amazon Properties, which owns the adjacent Park Crescent East, had placed the property under offer but had been trying to resolve a number of issues before completing the purchase.
Amiri and Great Marlborough are now in advanced discussions to swoop in and buy the property from the Great Capital Partnership – a joint venture between Capital & Counties and Great Portland Estates.
The deal would mark the first major UK purchase for Amiri, which acts for a number of Saudi Arabian and South East Asian clients.
Great Marlborough specialises in London residential development.
Park Crescent West principally comprises 16 Park Crescent, 18-25 Park Crescent, 26 Park Crescent and 77-81 Portland Place. With most office tenants having already agreed to early lease exits, it will soon become a prime residential development opportunity.
Restoring the block to residential use would more than double its value to £250m, with agents predicting sale prices of more than £2,500 per sq ft.
Central London residential continues to attract cash-rich buyers in search of a safe haven in which to store their wealth. In the last three-and-a-half years prime residential values have risen by 24% above their former peak in 2007, according to Savills.
