TH Real Estate has bought the 120,000 sq ft 169 Union Street, SE1, from Zeno Capital, advised by Oxygen Asset Management, in a £90m off-market deal.
The block is the HQ of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. It is let for another 12 years and the price reflects a net initial yield of 5%.
Mark Fisher, partner at Union Street Partners, said it was a South Bank landmark with “huge scope for improvement”.
“Union Street has undergone a transformation over the past few years, with Gordon Ramsay and Mark Hix moving in, and the surrounding area is undergoing rapid change,” he added.
The warehouse-style island site at 169 Union Street was built as a Royal Mail parcel sorting office in 1905, and was refurbished in 2007. It is adjacent to Southwark Fire Station, which is currently under offer to Westbrook Partners and is being sold by LFEPA for £53m.
The £3.6bn Henderson UK Property Open Ended Investment Company fund made the purchase, and has now invested more than £450m in long-lease assets in 2015.
Henderson OEIC co-manager Marcus Langlands Pearse said Southwark had the lowest availability rate in central London. “Our strategy has been to increase the fund’s exposure to central London,” he added.
chris.berkin@estatesgazette.com
