WELPUT eyes City office block acquisition
WELPUT is understood to be in talks to buy the leasehold for 7 Newgate, EC1, from German asset manager Doric Partners for significantly under the £60m quote price.
The six-storey property is being vacated by tenant Axa Investment Managers, which occupied the building for 20 years and is relocating to 22 Bishopsgate.
Earlier this year, following confirmation of Axa IM’s departure, Doric submitted a planning application designed by Morrow + Lorraine Architects to the City of London Corporation to overhaul the building.
WELPUT is understood to be in talks to buy the leasehold for 7 Newgate, EC1, from German asset manager Doric Partners for significantly under the £60m quote price.
The six-storey property is being vacated by tenant Axa Investment Managers, which occupied the building for 20 years and is relocating to 22 Bishopsgate.
Earlier this year, following confirmation of Axa IM’s departure, Doric submitted a planning application designed by Morrow + Lorraine Architects to the City of London Corporation to overhaul the building.
The plans aimed to increase the office space by 11,797 sq ft to 113,774 sq ft, and included a new rooftop pavilion and terraces.
If the talks progress it would be the first major building acquired by WELPUT, which is managed by BentallGreenOak, since its restructure at the beginning of the year.
The fund already has a portfolio of nine London assets most recently valued in Q2 at £988.2m, according to a report submitted to the Association of Real Estate Funds. At 30 June, WELPUT’S NAV stood at £812.9m and net initial yield was 1.7%.
This includes Warner Bros London’s headquarters on Theobalds Road, WC1; 20 St James’s Street, SW1; the Farringdon Road Estate, EC1; its two near-term development sites at 105 Victoria Street, SW1, and its rejigged scheme at All Saints Street in King’s Cross, N1 (pictured) which received planning approval in July.
Doric acquired 7 Newgate on behalf of its owner, GENO 7 Newgate Street GmbH & Co KG, in 2005 for £63m from DB Real Estate, according to Radius Data Exchange. The sale price reflected a net initial yield of 5.3%.
The Worshipful Company of Cutlers, one of the City of London’s oldest livery companies, owns the freehold for the building.
To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette
Image © Morrow + Lorraine Architects
