Japanese insurance giants Sumitomo Life have bought Electricity Supply Nominees’ long leasehold interest in Angel Court, Throgmorton Street, EC2, for £80.5m. The freeholder of the 245,000-sq ft office block behind the Bank of England is the Clothworkers Company.
ESN held the headlease in an agreement by which the property was leased on a rent geared to the rental income.
There has been speculation for some time about the movement of Japanese life companies into the City’s market. Their arrival in the New York market started a dramatic increase in values.
Until now, almost all Japanese investment in United Kingdom property has been by major construction companies, trading companies or banks.
Sumitomo’s debut investment in London appealed not just as a landmark building but as one they know particularly well: their London office occupies space in the building. The other tenants are American bank Morgan Guaranty with 200,000 sq ft, and Barclays Bank and Nederlandsche Bank.
The investment is highly reversionary and if, as expected, Morgan Guaranty leave the building for the City of London schools’ site development, the building could have other possibilities.
ESN see the sale as a further move in the restructuring of their property portfolio.
“The moneys from this disposal,” said property director Tim Bell, “are to be reinvested elsewhere to obtain a better geographical spread in view of our substantial holdings in the City of London.”
Debenham Tewson & Chinnocks advised ESN.
