Samsung weighs £425m Gresham Street sale

Samsung Life Insurance is mooting the sale of Commerzbank and Investec’s headquarters in the City of London. The South Korean investment fund, advised by DWS, is understood to be looking for around £425m for the 400,000 sq ft building at 30 Gresham Street, EC2V, refelecting a yield of 4.25%. Located close to the Bank of England and overlooking the Guildhall the building is let for a further 10 years. And Investec has expanded its take-up within the building by occupying a further 150,000 sq ft that was previously filled by the building’s other tenant. Built in the early noughties by Land Securities (now Landsec) 30 Gresham Street’s current owners are believed to have carried out some asset management initiatives within the building, but the overall passing rent is still anticipated to be £45 per sq ft compared to prime rents, which are now hitting above £70 per sq ft. Samsung Life Insurance is understood to have retained the services of CBRE and Knight Frank.