RE Capital ties up £15m Tower Bridge office deal
Developer RE Capital has continued its central London buying spree with the acquisition of Albion House, an office building near Tower Bridge, from Peabody for £15m.
The pan-European investor, asset manager and developer will work with architects at Hale Brown to refurbish the building, at 20 Queen Elizabeth Street, SE1, as it looks to build up its office portfolio in the capital.
Bosses hope the 29,000 sq ft Albion House will be completed early next year. It will reopen with a new reception area and terraces looking out over the Tower of London.
Developer RE Capital has continued its central London buying spree with the acquisition of Albion House, an office building near Tower Bridge, from Peabody for £15m.
The pan-European investor, asset manager and developer will work with architects at Hale Brown to refurbish the building, at 20 Queen Elizabeth Street, SE1, as it looks to build up its office portfolio in the capital.
Bosses hope the 29,000 sq ft Albion House will be completed early next year. It will reopen with a new reception area and terraces looking out over the Tower of London.
JLL advised RE Capital on the £20.6m financing for the acquisition and refurbishment works. The loan was provided by Invesco.
It comes after RE Capital’s purchase of 1-7 Old Queen Street last year, during the first national lockdown.
[caption id="attachment_1092455" align="aligncenter" width="847"] Albion House, 20 Queen Elizabeth Street, SE1[/caption]
Simon Banks, RE Capital’s head of UK real estate, said the deal was “a unique opportunity to buy a vacant and extremely well-located office in central London on an attractive basis for our capital”.
Banks added: “The acquisition aligns with our strategy to reposition strong underlying assets in core locations and deliver more relevant, diverse workplaces in a rapidly changing occupational landscape at a time when people are looking to return to the office.
“This latest transaction is an important milestone in our ongoing strategy to acquire up to £150 million of central London offices this year.”
RE Capital was advised by Compton and Charles Russell Speechly on the deal. Peabody was advised by Savills and Penningtons Manches Cooper. Rubix and RX London have been appointed as joint leasing agents.
Andrew Gordon, managing director of real estate debt for Europe at Invesco, added: “We believe that ‘future-proofed’ offices in core locations present a good opportunity and we are delighted to be supporting RE Capital on this transaction.”
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Photo courtesy of SEC Newgate
