M&G Real Estate has purchased the freehold ground lease of Bloomberg Place in the City of London from Legal & General for £92.5 million. A subsidiary of Bloomberg, Walbrook Square Ltd, retains the long lease hold of the site, which will house the company’s new European headquarters in the larger of the scheme’s two buildings.
This landmark 750,000 sq ft office development, which is due to complete in 2016, is in close proximity to Cannon Street, Mansion House, Monument and St. Paul’s Stations, providing access to the Circle, District, Northern, Waterloo & City and Central lines.
Commenting, Shailendra Shah, Director, Investment Management, M&G Real Estate, comments: “We have significant capital to invest in deals of this nature for our long income funds. Investments of this scale and quality in the heart of the City of London rarely come to market, particularly those with such a strong covenant from a long-term leaseholder. With a tenant committed in this structure, this deal will provide long-term, stable income growth for our investors.”
Michael Barrie, Director of Fund Management at Legal & General Property, said: “With a long and very rewarding ownership, Legal & General has held this site since 1962, when it was our headquarters. Playing a significant role in the creation of Bloomberg’s transformational scheme, we obtained planning consent for the site’s redevelopment in 2006 before selling our long leasehold interest in 2010. The sale of the freehold to M&G Real Estate therefore brings a successful conclusion to our ownership of the site during which the property has performed incredibly strongly for us, including delivering an annual return of 18% over the last five years.”
Nigel Fox from Capital Real Estate Partners acted on behalf of Legal & General Property in this transaction.
