Macquarie fund snaps up City office

A Macquarie fund has bought City office building 8-10 Old Jewry, EC2, at a net initial yield of 6.75% as it begins to see “well-priced opportunities emerge across the market”. The price paid is in the region of £41m, equating to a capital value of around £700 per sq ft. The Stable Income European Real Estate Fund – Macquarie 2 is understood to have bought the 57,745 sq ft office building from Orchard Street Investment Management on behalf of St James’s Place funds, which bought the investment in 2012 for £40.02m. The latest sale price has not been disclosed. Orchard Street has overseen a refurbishment and reletting programme and the building is fully leased to tenants in the technology, banking and finance and professional services sectors. A Browns restaurant occupies the ground floor of the 1913-built property. The fund is jointly advised by Macquarie Asset Management and MAPFRE. Christian Goebel, co-head of Macquarie Asset Management’s Core/Core-Plus Real Estate strategy, said: “London maintains its reputation as one of the world’s most dynamic and resilient cities. “Our team is now seeing well-priced opportunities emerge across the market, enabling us to reposition and seek to enhance the sustainability credentials of properties. “This distinguished building – in the beating heart of the capital’s financial centre – represents a fantastic addition to our portfolio.”  It marks the second office deal for this fund in as many months, following a purchase in central Berlin in February. Alfredo Muñoz, real estate general manager at MAPFRE, said: “This building perfectly meets the type of asset we are looking for: a high-quality, well-located property with stable income streams. “Working with Macquarie, we plan to invest to improve its energy and sustainability performance, as we intend for all our investments to be socially responsible.” To send feedback, e-mail julia.cahill@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGJuliaC or @EGPropertyNews Image courtesy of PR