The sale of a half share in a 430,000 sq ft block in Paddington, NW1, has been withdrawn after failing to attract sufficient interest.
The £164.4m stake in Sheldon Square – reflecting a 4.36% yield – was put up for sale by US-based Liquid Realty and Invista, on behalf of Clerical Medical earlier this year (26 January, p40).
The block is the first phase of the 1.5m sq ft PaddingtonCentral.
A source close to the deal said: “There was interest but not at the level the vendors wanted. Liquid Realty and Invista are taking an optimistic view of the market, and have decided to hold onto it.”
One agent said that the intricacies of the ownership arrangement had put investors off the deal.
“The sale of a passive stake, when there are lots of landowners involved, is a hard deal to do in this market,” he said
Late last year, Morley Fund Management almost had to abandon its sale of a half stake in another development at PaddingtonCentral.
However, after months of delay, Dublin-based investor Derek Quinlan bought the £100m stake in 2 Kingdom Street.
CB Richard Ellis was advising on Sheldon Square.
l West End investor Shaftesbury has withdrawn its Charlotte Street estate, W1, from the market after failing to reach an agreement with purchasers at the £30m-£40m asking price.
