Rockspring has made its first foray into Manchester since the downturn as part of a £600m assault on the regions.
The fund manager has bought Peter House from Mayer Real Estate, part of Israel’s largest transport group, for £23.8m, reflecting a yield of 6%.
Mayer bought the 53-year-old building on St Peter’s Square for £14.7m in 2011.
The acquisition is on behalf of Rockspring’s UK Value 2 fund, which has raised £185m of equity since its launch in the spring and is expected to raise £300m by year end, with a £600m portfolio target.
Value 2 is backed by five institutional investors from the UK, Europe and Australia.
Rockspring is one of several fund managers that has returned to the UK regions after being priced out of London.
A source said: “This just shows how much the market has changed in three years. The building has been asset managed to a point, but we are talking about a key change in the market from having to convince people to buy in Manchester.”
WHR acted for Meyer Bergman; King Street Commercial acted for Rockspring.
