M&G Real Estate has bought the freehold ground lease of Bloomberg Place, EC2, from Legal & General for £92.5m.
Walbrook Square, a subsidiary of Bloomberg, has retained the long leasehold of the site, which will house the company’s new European headquarters in the larger of the scheme’s two buildings.
The 750,000 sq ft development is due to complete in 2016.
Shailendra Shah, director, investment management at M&G Real Estate, said: “We have significant capital to invest in deals of this nature for our long-income funds.
“Investments of this scale and quality in the heart of the City of London rarely come to market, particularly those with such a strong covenant from a long-term leaseholder.”
L&G has owned the building since 1962, when it was used as the company’s headquarters. In 2006 planning consent was granted for the creation of Bloomberg’s scheme and L&G’s long leasehold interest was sold in 2010.
Michael Barrie, director of fund management at L&G Property, said the property had performed “incredibly strongly” for the company, delivering an annual return of 18% over the past five years.
Nigel Fox from Capital Real Estate Partners acted for L&G.
