Blackrock has put two properties from its central London portfolio up for sale.
As tipped by Estates Gazette earlier this month, the global investment manager has now put 189,780 sq ft 125 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2, on the market.
It has appointed CBRE to seek offers in excess of £120m – a 5.06% yield – for the office asset, which has potential for a major redevelopment. The property has total passing rent of £6.4m pa, and the bulk of leases there expire between 2014 and 2015.
At the same time, Blackrock has instructed Savills to sell 25-26 Albemarle Street, W1, for £16.2m – a 3% net initial yield.
The Mayfair property comprises 6,810 sq ft of offices, and 4,850 sq ft of retail, which is let to hair stylist Michaeljohn until October 2024. It has a total passing rent of £514,229 pa.
The buildings will be well received by the market, owing to a shortage of investment supply in the West End.
Last month at MIPIM, Julian Sandbach, director of West End investment at Jones Lang LaSalle, forecast that revenue this year could fall to around £4bn, a drop of about a quarter on 2012 figures.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
