A pair of office blocks in Croydon, south London, which have the potential for a 2m sq ft redevelopment, have been put up for sale for £95m – a 5.5% yield.
Apollo House – which was the fictional home of Mark and Jez in Channel 4 comedy series Peep Show (pictured) – and neighbouring Lunar House are being marketed by CBRE and JLL.
The buildings are owned by Israeli Pension fund Harel Insurance and boast a combined 441,797 sq ft of office space.
The vendors hope the £1bn redevelopment of the nearby Whitgift Centre by Westfield and Hammerson and the £500m Ruskin Square development will help catalyse interest from developers keen to piggyback on momentum in the area.
In meetings with its present owner, the council has stated its preference for the site to be developed as one project and for a scheme in keeping with adjacent developments, including Berkeley Homes’ forthcoming 43-storey residential tower.
Both Lunar and Apollo are let to the department for Communities and Local Government until June 2023 and command a passing rent of £5.5m pa, or £12.50 per sq ft.
The buildings, which occupy a 4.7-acre site, have previously been considered for a major project.
In 2008, Pacific Group devised plans for a residential-led scheme including a 57-storey block of flats.
Although that scheme never progressed, the site has been classified as suitable for high density development in Croydon council’s local plan.
An indicative scheme included in the sales literature outlines the 2m sq ft of residential-led mixed-use development that could be accommodated.
