Sutton Council has sold Oxfam House at Oxford Business Park, nearly two years after launching its search for a buyer.
Former Oxford Technology Park co-owner and developer Angus Bates has bought the site for £37.1m, representing £420 per sq ft and a net initial yield of 4.25%, with a potential further uplift realisable in excess of £46m.
Bates bought the building after a sale to both US investor Nuveen and Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, fell through last year.
The deal represents a discount of around 38% to its initial price tag. The council previously instructed Lambert Smith Hampton to sell the building in May 2022, seeking offers of around £60m. The council bought the block from Aviva Investors in 2016 for £29.9m, reflecting a 5.28% net initial yield.
The office, measuring around 88,000 sq ft and known as Building 2700 on Oxford Business Park, was marketed with the potential for redevelopment into a life sciences hub.
Oxfam House is vacant, having served as the charity’s headquarters from 2005 to 2018, when it relocated to Nairobi in Kenya. However, it still has a lease on the property, which is due to expire in March 2025.
Andrew Groves, commercial managing partner at Bidwells, which represented the buyer, said: “Our client’s acquisition of 2700 Oxford Business Park represents their commitment to, and belief in, the future growth expectations of the Oxford ecosystem.”
Charlie Lake, director at Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “Despite challenging marketing conditions, the sale of Building 2700 emphasises the strong demand that continues to exist for office refurbishment and repositioning opportunities in the tightly constrained Oxford market.”
The buyer, along with Alicia Bates, previously sold Oxford Technology Park to Life Science REIT in 2022 for £183m.
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