Swiss investor makes UK debut with Virgin Atlantic HQ buy
Swiss institutional investor Mirabaud Asset Management has closed a deal to buy Virgin Atlantic’s 110,000 sq ft headquarters in Crawley, marking its first UK grade-A office purchase.
Mirabaud is buying the building from Balanced Commercial Property Trust, which is managed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In February, the sale exchanged unconditionally based on a £26.1m headline price. The sum reflected a 6.1% discount to December book value.
The acquisition brings the value of Mirabaud’s real estate portfolio to almost $700m (£554m).
Swiss institutional investor Mirabaud Asset Management has closed a deal to buy Virgin Atlantic’s 110,000 sq ft headquarters in Crawley, marking its first UK grade-A office purchase.
Mirabaud is buying the building from Balanced Commercial Property Trust, which is managed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In February, the sale exchanged unconditionally based on a £26.1m headline price. The sum reflected a 6.1% discount to December book value.
The acquisition brings the value of Mirabaud’s real estate portfolio to almost $700m (£554m).
Called the Leonardo building, the site sits next to Gatwick Airport and was purpose-built in 2016 for Virgin Atlantic. It is entirely leased to the airline company until 2032. Virgin has been located in the area since its foundation, with VHQ serving as the central support hub for Virgin Atlantic’s operations.
Mirabaud said the combination of Virgin Atlantic’s nine remaining years of lease, “mission critical” headquarters, grade-A asset and strong West Sussex market fundamentals made the property a “compelling acquisition opportunity”.
The investor is seeking to expand its established real estate portfolio by acquiring single-tenant office and logistics assets in key markets across the UK and US. Since 2019, it has advised on eight acquisitions.
Vaqar Zuberi, head of alternative investments at Mirabaud Asset Management, said: “The acquisition of VHQ continues our strategy to invest in high-quality, mission critical offices in regions with positive demographic and economic trends, leased to investment-grade tenants with in-place long-term leases.”
The investments are fully integrated in the private asset offering of Mirabaud Wealth Management.
Alejandro Nimo, head of private asset solutions at Mirabaud Wealth Management, said: “We see a robust demand from sophisticated private investors seeking access to real estate opportunities that offer consistent cash flows and a favourable risk return profile.”
