Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi is nearing a circa £195m deal to buy 90 High Holborn, WC1, from Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Permodalan Nasional Berhad.
PNB instructed CBRE to sell the 186,000 sq ft former Olswang HQ in October for a yield of 4.71%. It withdrew the asset from the market in January, with the intention of placing it in a unit trust fund. However, an off-market deal with Sagi has now been negotiated.
PNB has also resumed sales discussions for Linklaters’ City headquarters at One Silk Street, EC2, which Knight Frank was first appointed to sell in September for around £400m – a net initial yield of 4.71%. PNB withdrew the asset from the market at the start of the year with the intention of placing it in a unit trust, but has now reopened negotiations.
Law firm Olswang vacated its 91,000 sq ft of offices at 90 High Holborn last summer following its merger with CMS and Nabarro. University College London has now agreed a deal to let 48,548 sq ft on the first and second floors, on the basis of an assignment at a passing rent of £52.50 per sq ft on a lease to March 2022.
US law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has acquired the third floor, totalling 24,892 sq ft, at a similar rent.
The deal represents an expansion of Sagi’s Bloomsbury empire. In 2016, the Playtech founder acquired the nearby Holborn Links Estate through his property company Citwax Investments in a £300m deal. The portfolio of 34 properties totals 465,000 sq ft. Last year he also acquired BUPA House, WC1, a 96,100 sq ft building, for his co-working venture.
In June last year, Sagi announced plans to raise close to £340m through the sale of 11.5% of Playtech as part of a shift towards real estate investment, with a focus on creating flexible office space. The announcement followed his deal in April 2017, through LabTech Investments, to take full ownership of Market Tech, which owns Camden Market, NW1.
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