ING Insurance and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board are again close to selling 1 Bunhill Row, EC1, in the latest twist of fate for the building.
Kuwaiti property company St Martins Corporation has agreed a deal to buy Slaughter & May’s headquarters in the City for around £190m – a yield of more than 5.5%.
St Martins this week also bought Hammerson’s 60 Threadneedle Street, EC2, for around £175m – a 4.75% yield.
The Bunhill deal will come as a surprise to many in the market, given that it was widely believed that St Martins had intended to focus on completing one investment deal before identifying other opportunities.
EGi revealed last week that a client of Knight Frank Investors had pulled out of a deal to buy the 260,000 sq ft building.
The client, which put 1 Bunhill Row under offer last month for £190m, is now buying the nearby 3 Bunhill Row from Henderson for around £83m, reflecting a yield of 5.25%.
ING and CPP put 1 Bunhill Row up for sale in September through Jones Lang LaSalle. It was seeking £192m.
St Martins, a division of Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, has been linked with a number of deals in recent months as it looks to sink its equity into well-let, core assets in the Square Mile, including Drapers Gardens, EC2. The company raised around £750m over the past year from the sale of non-core assets.
Savills acts for St Martins.
james.buckley@estatesgazette.com
