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An asset management company owned by the Dubai-based Al Gurg family has agreed to buy an office block and neighbouring residential building in London for £266.5 million ($356.8 million).
Wolfe Asset Management, a company owned by the Al Gurg Family, has bought the 240 Blackfriars Road office building and neighbouring residential block Cubitt House from the Great Ropemaker Partnership (GRP), a 50/50 joint venture between Great Portland Estates and Ropemaker Properties, which is the property nominee of the BP Pension Fund.
GRP said in an announcement on the London Stock Exchange on Monday that contracts have been exchanged on the deal and is expected to be completed next month.
240 Blackfriars Road is a 20-storey, 226,271 square foot office building with retail units below, which was completed in 2014. It sits on the south bank of the Thames, close to Blackfriars bridge and the Tate Modern art gallery. The building is fully let, according to its website, with tenants including media firms UBM plc and Lonely Planet Publications, law firm Boodle Hatfield and engineers Ramboll UK, who pay rents of between £47 and £65 per sq ft.
The deal also includes the adjoining Cubitt House, which is a 10,690 sq ft building with ten apartments (all of which have been sold on long leases) and a ground floor retail unit. It generates £11.2 million per year in rental income.
In total, GRP said that the price paid represents a net initial yield of 3.94 percent.
Abdulla Al Gurg, group general manager of Wolfe Asset Management, was quoted in the stock market announcement as describing 240 Blackfriars Road as being "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," he said.
Toby Courtauld, chief executive of Great Portland Estates, said the sale represented "the culmination of an exceptional development project" for the firm, having secured planning in March 2011 and a pre-let to UBM for a significant chunk of the space by January 2012.
The Al Gurg family own the Dubai-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group which has business ventures in retail, construction, industrial and real estate markets in the United Arab Emirates.
The group also runs a series of joint ventures with multinational groups, including Siemens, Akzonobel Pains and a sole distributorship deal for Unilever across the Northern Emirates, according to its website.
(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Shane McGinley)
(micheal.fahy@thomsonreuters.com)
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
© ZAWYA 2017
Wolfe Asset Management, a company owned by the Al Gurg Family, has bought the 240 Blackfriars Road office building and neighbouring residential block Cubitt House from the Great Ropemaker Partnership (GRP), a 50/50 joint venture between Great Portland Estates and Ropemaker Properties, which is the property nominee of the BP Pension Fund.
GRP said in an announcement on the London Stock Exchange on Monday that contracts have been exchanged on the deal and is expected to be completed next month.
240 Blackfriars Road is a 20-storey, 226,271 square foot office building with retail units below, which was completed in 2014. It sits on the south bank of the Thames, close to Blackfriars bridge and the Tate Modern art gallery. The building is fully let, according to its website, with tenants including media firms UBM plc and Lonely Planet Publications, law firm Boodle Hatfield and engineers Ramboll UK, who pay rents of between £47 and £65 per sq ft.
The deal also includes the adjoining Cubitt House, which is a 10,690 sq ft building with ten apartments (all of which have been sold on long leases) and a ground floor retail unit. It generates £11.2 million per year in rental income.
In total, GRP said that the price paid represents a net initial yield of 3.94 percent.
Abdulla Al Gurg, group general manager of Wolfe Asset Management, was quoted in the stock market announcement as describing 240 Blackfriars Road as being "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," he said.
Toby Courtauld, chief executive of Great Portland Estates, said the sale represented "the culmination of an exceptional development project" for the firm, having secured planning in March 2011 and a pre-let to UBM for a significant chunk of the space by January 2012.
The Al Gurg family own the Dubai-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group which has business ventures in retail, construction, industrial and real estate markets in the United Arab Emirates.
The group also runs a series of joint ventures with multinational groups, including Siemens, Akzonobel Pains and a sole distributorship deal for Unilever across the Northern Emirates, according to its website.
(Writing by Michael Fahy; Editing by Shane McGinley)
(micheal.fahy@thomsonreuters.com)
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
© ZAWYA 2017
