Great Portland Estate and BP Pension Fund have sold 240 Blackfriars Road, SE1, to Wolfe Asset Management, a subsidiary of Al Gurg Group, for £266.5m.
The 226,271 sq ft building is fully let to tenants including UBM, Boodle Hatfield, Ramboll and Lonely Planet Publications, with rents ranging from £47 to £65 per sq ft with a weighted unexpired lease term to break of 8.4 years. The sales price reflects a 3.94% yield.
The sale by the joint venture, known as the Great Ropemaker Partnership, incorporates Cubitt House, the 10,690 sq ft adjoining retail and residential building, where all 10 apartments have been sold on long leases and the retail unit is let to The Coffeeworks Project.
The price of the sale is marginally ahead of GPE’s book value as of September. Completion of the deal is due in January.
Toby Courtauld, chief executive of GPE, said: “The sale of 240 Blackfriars Road is the culmination of an exceptional development project for GRP.
“Having secured an attractive planning permission in March 2011, GRP commenced development in January 2012 following the pre-letting of 105,825 sq ft to UBM.
“The sale continues our strategy of recycling capital out of assets where we have created value”.
Abdulla Al Gurg, group general manager of WAM, said: “The 240 Blackfriars Road building is iconic in its design and an instantly recognisable feature of the London skyline.
“It perfectly fits within our strategy of owning best-in-class commercial buildings in prominent London locations.
“Southbank is regarded as one of London’s most vibrant districts and thriving submarkets, with a unique combination of world-renowned arts and theatre institutions, hotels, luxury residential developments, excellent connectivity and prime real estate.”
James Rood, senior director at CBRE said: “240 Blackfriars offers excellent wealth preservation attributes and has expanded Wolfe’s enviable London portfolio into a growth sub-market of the capital which offers fantastic long term growth prospects.”
CBRE, JLL and LaSalle advised Al Gurg. Colliers International advised the vendor.
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