Blackstone has sold Cushman & Wakefield’s European headquarters at 125 Old Broad Street, EC2, to Singapore’s City Developments for £385m in an off-market deal.
The sale of the 329,000 sq ft office, which Blackstone acquired from Brookfield Asset Management in 2014 for £326m, is one of the largest City office deals of the year. The yield is understood to be around 4.7%.
Blackstone was in talks last year to sell the building for £430m in an off-market deal that did not progress.
It is the latest major asset the firm has disposed of in London in recent months after selling the Adelphi building in the West End to Amancio Ortega for around £550m.
The deal also marks City Development’s second London office acquisition this year, having purchased Aldgate House for £183m in September.
City Developments said Brexit had created opportunities to find value in London and that it expects rental growth to continue into 2021 because of limited supply in the capital.
City Developments chief investment officer Frank Khoo said: “We have confidence in the long-term fundamentals of London as a global financial hub with a robust office market.
“The short-term uncertainties surrounding Brexit have presented us opportunities to acquire assets with deep value.
“Capitalising on attractive pricing and yields, we have continued to expand our London commercial portfolio through strategic off-market acquisitions of high-performance assets.
“Given its excellent location in a diverse business district, 125 Old Broad Street will continue to attract a strong tenant mix from the finance, legal, insurance, technology, media and telecommunications sectors.”
The former home of the London Stock Exchange, 125 Old Broad Street is fully let, with King & Spalding and China International Capital Corporation occupying the building alongside Cushman & Wakefield.
Cushman & Wakefield advised City Developments Limited; BH2 advised Blackstone.
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