Soho leapfrogs Princeton
Soho Estates has replaced Princeton Investments as the frontrunner to buy part of bookshop Foyles’ portfolio for around £62.5m – a 3.7% yield. The family owner of Foyles, Noved Investment Holdings, is selling the buildings on 111-117 Charing Cross Road, WC2, 10-14 Greek Street and its Manette Road property, both W1. They total 125,000 sq ft. DE&J Levy and H2SO are advising Noved.
Aberdeen sells in WC2
DTZ Investment Management has bought Drury House, WC2, for £21m, reflecting a yield of 5.34%. The five-storey 35,751 sq ft building, at 34-43 Russell Street, was sold by Aberdeen Asset Management. It produces £1.2m pa. BNP Paribas Real Estate advised the vendor; DTZ acted for the buyer.
InfraRed hot on Norwich
InfraRed Capital Partners and Hark Group have gone under offer to buy the Mall Fund’s The Mall Norwich shopping centre for around £80m. The 371,000 sq ft centre is let to tenants including Argos, Boots, and TK Maxx. The purchase price reflects a yield of circa 8.5%. DTZ is advising.
Dublin hotel goes to Russian
Russian businesswoman Elana Baturina’s Beneco Privatstiftung is to buy the Morrison hotel in Dublin for around €22m (£18.4m). The firm is expected to take over the 141-bedroom hotel at the end of the month. The four-star Morrison was part of Hugh O’Regan’s bar and hotel chain until last year when Nama appointed receivers at CBRE Hotels to sell the property.
Amlin buys Victoria site
Insurance firm Amlin UK has bought a 0.79-acre site in Chelmsford, Essex, comprising 35,741 sq ft of vacant offices, for £2.2m. Spice Property Consultants acted for Amlin; the vendor, Chancerygate, was advised by Lambert Smith Hampton and Taylor & Co.
