UK investor Habro Properties is under offer to acquire Aberdeen Investments’ freehold interest in 24-28 Bloomsbury Way, WC1, for around £41m.
The company came out as the frontrunner in a two-round bidding process which saw the company push its bid more than 15% past the £35.5m quote price.
If successful, the deal would give the company the opportunity to recoup its investment by increasing rents in the 44,657 sq ft building, which is currently single-let to WPP 2005 until 2030.
The rent has been kept artificially low at £44.74 per sq ft – nearly £2m per year. As a result, the asset was being marketed as an opportunity to tap into the building’s unrealised potential in an area where capital values have exceeded £1,400 per sq ft.
Feasibility studies conducted as part of the marketing process indicated the potential to increase rents by more than 95% via a full repositioning and additional massing.
According to Savills research, rents in Bloomsbury are expected to grow by as much as 21% over the next five years – the highest rate of all submarkets within the West End.
Savills is advising Aberdeen on the sale.
