COMMENT I have just been dusting off and finishing my series of articles of events during my career in London investment. Before my seventh episode, I can surmise that there must be a huge sigh of relief among London’s senior investment brokerage community that the money has arrived and the market seems to be finding a level.
Significant transactions have taken place within London, such as the purchase at top price (bearing in mind the state of the market) by Edge and Mitsubishi for 170,000 sq ft of development site in Shaftesbury Avenue (reportedly £900 per sq ft – wow) and UBS’s Taiwanese client purchasing Nuveen’s “stuck” investment in Fetter Lane (medium-term let to Bird & Bird) at more than a 6% net initial yield.
These have been joined by two early 2024 deals, Vogue House to Global Holdings at the second time of asking for £75m, and the sale at a much-reduced price of £240m of 20 Old Bailey to Sinar Mas Land of Indonesia by Korean owner Mirage – a yield of over 6%. (I sold 20 Old Bailey in 1989 to the Japanese at 4.5%).
