Mike Hussey’s Almacantar makes first asset sale

  Almacantar, the property company founded by veteran developer Mike Hussey in 2010, has made its first asset sale as it looks to reposition its London portfolio. The company this week sold Grade II listed CAA House, which was designed by architect Richard Seifert in 1968, to small investor Seaforth Land for £165m, in a deal first reported by EG in April. Seaforth Land was backed by QuadReal Property Group, one of Canada’s largest real estate investment management companies. The Brutalist building, known as “Space House”, comprises 229,192 sq ft of office space split across two interconnected buildings of eight storeys at 43-59 Kingsway and 15 storeys at 1 Kemble Street. The property is fully let to the Civil Aviation Authority until December 2019 at a rent of £29.23 per sq ft translating to a net initial yield on sale of 4%. It was bought by Almacantar for about £110m in 2012. Tyler Goodwin, chief executive of Seaforth Land, said: “As a central London value investor, Seaforth Land views CAA House as a unique opportunity to place-make while delivering office space designed around the rapidly elevating needs of our customers – creative and corporate tenants.  Specialisation has helped us to move quickly to identify, underwrite and discreetly execute this off-market transaction. We’re looking forward to returning ‘Spacehaus’ to the London office market as a celebration of mid-century modern Brutalist architecture.” Mike Hussey, chief executive of Almacantar, said: “Space House is one of my favourite West End buildings and has served us very well since our acquisition in 2012. I am looking forward to seeing Seaforth Land’s revitalisation and wish them well with the project. Almacantar will recycle the equity released into our future pipeline projects.” Seaforth Land was advised by Capital Real Estate Partners; Almacantar was unrepresented. To send feedback, email louisa.clarence-smith@egi.co.uk, or tweet @louisaclarence or @estatesgazette.