RE Capital transacts £60m in London
Pan-European investment, development and asset management company RE Capital has sold 1 Old Queen Street, SW1, to a private investor for £38.4m – a net initial yield of 3.83%.
The investor bought the 20,000 sq ft office building during the first Covid-19 lockdown for £24m and has secured a number of lettings at the property since, including at a new record for the Westminster sub-market of £95 per sq ft.
The firm invested £4m in the building during its ownership, refurbishing the building, securing planning consent for a communal roof terrace overlooking Westminster Abbey, a private courtyard, the installation of end-of-journey facilities, and installing a plug-and-play specification across the top two floors.
Pan-European investment, development and asset management company RE Capital has sold 1 Old Queen Street, SW1, to a private investor for £38.4m – a net initial yield of 3.83%.
The investor bought the 20,000 sq ft office building during the first Covid-19 lockdown for £24m and has secured a number of lettings at the property since, including at a new record for the Westminster sub-market of £95 per sq ft.
The firm invested £4m in the building during its ownership, refurbishing the building, securing planning consent for a communal roof terrace overlooking Westminster Abbey, a private courtyard, the installation of end-of-journey facilities, and installing a plug-and-play specification across the top two floors.
In a separate deal, RE Capital has bought the 18,859 sq ft Corner Building at 91-93 Farringdon Road, EC1, for just over £21m in a joint venture with SFO Capital Partners.
The office building is 58% let and RE Capital plans to reposition it through a targeted capex programme to deliver a grade-A office asset. Vacant floors will be refurbished to CAT A+ and the roof space will converted to a communal terrace.
Newman Leech, chief executive of RE Capital, said: “To secure such a compelling exit of 1 Old Queen Street, having recently achieved practical completion, is a very strong endorsement of our original investment rationale, our asset management expertise and the future of high-quality offices in strong locations.
“We remain committed to both this part of London, having started construction at our UK flagship, Greycoat Stores, a 78,000 sq ft mixed-use destination development in Victoria, as well as the London office market more broadly and look forward to repositioning the Corner Building as a market-leading office.”
RE Capital was advised by Gerald Eve and Savills on the Old Queen Street sale; with the purchaser advised by CBRE. On the Corner Building, RE Capital & SFO Capital Partners were advised by Gunnercooke.
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