Great Portland Estates (GPE) has sold Challenger House – also known as The Corner Hotel in Whitechapel, E1, along with an adjoining plot of undeveloped land for £42m.
The buyer is Yoomata Aldgate Property, a joint venture between Euragone Investment Management and Mata Capital. The sale has been completed marginally ahead of book value.
Challenger House extends to 74,000 sq ft and includes around 180 bedrooms, as well as a ground-floor restaurant and bar.
The hotel sits adjacent to The Hickman, GPE’s 74,900 sq ft repositioned office building, which is let to tenants including New Look, Runway East and Four Communications.
GPE is retaining The Hickman for income and anticipated value growth.
Challenger House and The Hickman were originally acquired together in 2017 for £49.6m.
Last week, the REIT published its full-year results and announced plans for £350m worth of disposals over the coming year, with more than half of the assets already under offer.
The hotel will undergo a significant refurbishment and re-open as the first Yooma Urban Lodge in London.
Hugh Morgan, director of investment management at GPE, said: “The sale of Challenger House allows us to crystallise our returns and reallocate capital from a non-core asset into our substantial development pipeline, which is rich with opportunities.”
CBRE advised GPE on the sale.
Image: GPE
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