This time, in our deals summary for 9 February, we focus on the UK market, with four major deals featuring office sales.
London offices fetch £59.25m
Location and details: 127-133 Charing Cross Road, in London’s West End, has planning consent for three additional floors that would increase the area by more than 40%.
Sector: Offices
Buyer: Nomura Real Estate
Seller: RDI REIT
Price: £59.25 million
RDI CEO Stephen Oakenfull says, “We believe that the sale captures a significant proportion of the asset’s potential value and provides us with the ability to recycle capital into opportunities with stronger risk-adjusted returns. In the meantime, the proceeds of this transaction further strengthen the balance sheet where we now have cash and available facilities totalling approximately €312.5m (£275m) to execute on our strategy.”
Source: https://www.rdireit.com/sites/rdi-reit/files/documents/05-rdi-1st-quarter-jan-21.pdf
Three UK offices sell for £65m
Location and details: Atradius House in Cardiff, Keypoint in Bristol and Objects House in Maidenhead – were bought from both private and corporate owners. The combined floor space exceeds 213,000 sq ft. The image is by Jens58 on Wikipedia.
Sector: Offices
Buyers: Kamco and M7 Real Estate
Sellers: Private and corporate owners
Price: £59.25 million
Leona Ahmed, real estate partner and head of London at Addleshaw Goddard, says, “Though the UK is still in the grips of a national lockdown, we’re beginning to see signs of renewed interest in regional office markets, particularly high-quality, flexible spaces which can be easily adapted based on changing occupier needs.”
Source: https://www.m7re.eu/news/kuwaits-kamco-teams-up-with-m7-for-65m-uk-office-trio/
County Council buys Dakota Office
Location and details: Dakota, Brooklands, Weybridge, Surrey. Dakota was recently redeveloped and extended and provides circa 36,000 sq. ft. of Grade A office space with terraces. Surrey CC will occupy the first and second floors.
Sector: Offices
Buyer: Surrey County Council
Seller: Trading company, The RO
Price: £15.9 million
David Kershaw, Group Real Estate Director, the RO, says, “The capital generated by this sale will enable us to look at attractive new opportunities, as well as continuing to invest in our existing assets.
Source: https://www.rorealestate.co.uk/post/ro-completes-the-sale-of-its-dakota-office-building-in-weybridge-to-surrey-county-council
Offices in Sheffield purchase
Location and details: The grade II-listed Hillsborough Barracks in Sheffield includes a shopping parade with converted offices and separate offices in a walled estate.
Sector: Mixed-use
Buyer: Evolve Estates Ltd
Seller: Opus North
Price: £4.2 million
Joe O’Keefe, of Evolve Estates, said: “We’re pleased to have completed the acquisition of this superb mixed-use site in Sheffield, which has a strong retail centre, a good office complex offer, and excellent transport links to the city centre and local residential areas.”
Source: https://www.lcpproperties.co.uk/news/436/evolve-estates-acquires-historic-sheffield-shopping-mall-and-office-estate
