The freehold of 24 Old Bond Street, W1, has been acquired by Unity Re for £141m.
Unity Re is the investment vehicle of the Maramotti family, owners of Max Mara Fashion Group brands.
Serving as Salvatore Ferragamo’s London flagship store since 1967, the 14,000 sq ft building occupies a prominent corner site with Burlington Gardens.
The purchase price of £141m reflects a yield of 2.46%. Salvatore Ferragamo generates 85% of the total income and has around 15 years unexpired on its lease. The upper parts are occupied by multi-let offices.
The Grade II listed Gothic Revival-style building has a historic spire bell tower and is one of the most iconic properties on Bond Street.
The building will be a key beneficiary of the Bond Street public realm project and one of the focal points of the transformed Jewellery Quarter Piazza, where works are due to complete this month.
The building was acquired by NFU Mutual in the early 1990s and has been consistently at the forefront of rental growth throughout its ownership.
Tom Bostock, fund manager at NFU Mutual said: “The asset has performed well for the fund over many years and having recently completed the rent review we felt the time was right to exit and redeploy funds elsewhere.
“We continue to hold prime London retail assets and remain confident in the market outlook.”
Richard Alsop, senior director at CBRE, said: “The sale confirms the continued lure of Bond Street for global investors. Robust occupational activity along with the boost expected from the Bond Street Public Realm project and Crossrail are driving confidence in the market.
“We expect further investment activity in 2018, although with the ownership profile dominated by those holding for the long term, opportunities to buy prime assets are becoming increasingly rare.”
NFU Mutual was represented by CBRE and Chapman Petrie; Unity Re was represented by Hall Lahaise.
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