M&GPrudential is investing £875m (€968m) in a 905,000sqft office development in the City of London on behalf of Prudential’s £144bn with-profits fund.
The project to develop 40 Leadenhall, dubbed Gotham City, was sold by Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO) and Nuveen Real Estate.
The site has permission for the development of two towers, providing 14 and 34 storeys of predominantly office space.
The new buildings’ carbon emissions will be 30% below current regulations and are expected to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
The deal was structured by M&GPrudential’s commercial property arm, M&G Real Estate.
Jack Daniels, CIO at M&GPrudential, said: “40 Leadenhall is an opportunity to acquire a sizeable asset at attractive pricing with clear scope to create additional value through development.
“As one of the world’s largest commercial property investors and manager of the UK’s largest with-profits fund, we are one of the few investors able to acquire projects of this size when an attractive opportunity arises.”
Tony Brown, global head of M&G Real Estate, said: “London’s commercial property market currently offers good value relative to other capital cities such as Paris and Tokyo, partly due to Brexit-related uncertainty.”
“As there are a limited number of developments underway in London, we expect high-quality office space like this with an emphasis on green credentials and employee well-being to be in demand from occupiers when the scheme is completed in four years.”
Nick Deacon, head of European offices at Nuveen Real Estate, said: “We have successfully delivered the business plan on behalf of our investors and, through our continued involvement as development manager, we are excited to deliver a true landmark building for London, offering future occupiers exemplary design in a sought-after location with progressive environmental credentials.”
