Developer Peter Millican has postponed the £230m sale of the Guardian and Observer newspapers’ headquarters in King’s Cross, N1.
Millican’s company, Parabola Land, has abandoned the sale of King’s Place, at 90 York Way, just over two months after it instructed DTZ to sell the 310,000 sq ft building. It had been seeking £235m – a 5.6% yield – for the property.
Sources said that Parabola had shelved the deal because it believed that Argent’s adjacent 8m sq ft King’s Cross Central scheme had the potential to increase values in the area over the coming years.
Companies including Google and Apple have already been linked to a move to King’s Cross. Agents said that a major letting to a high-profile tenant would boost rental and investment values in the area.
One agent said: “There is a lot going on in King’s Cross, with Argent and with exciting companies linked to the area. On the back of that, I think the vendor thought there was no rush to sell and thought, ‘let’s see how things go here’, before selling.”
Parabola, which bought 90 York Way in 1999, is also thought to be concerned about potential buyers not fulfilling its desire to maintain the building as a home to the arts and media.
DTZ said a number of parties had considered buying the block, including several sovereign wealth funds.
The Guardian moved to the development in 2008 and occupies 150,000 sq ft on a 20-year lease at £5.2m per year.
Parabola was unavailable to comment.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
