BCPT sells UK office assets for £42.8m

Balanced Commercial Property Trust (BCPT), which is managed by Columbia Threadneedle Real Estate, has agreed the sale of three office holdings in a strategic move to reduce its exposure to the sector.

The sale involves two regional, out-of-town business parks in Edinburgh and Aberdeen and a multi-let asset in London. The sales have been agreed at an aggregate price of £42.8m (€49.7m), representing a 0.3% discount against September 2023’s independent valuation.

The assets are Nevis & Ness House, Edinburgh Park, a 42,000sqft headquarters office occupied by Diageo Scotland, and Building 4, Prime Four Business Park, Aberdeen, a 25,000sqft training centre occupied by Maersk Training UK.

In a separate transaction, BCPT exchanged contracts on 2-4 King Street, London SW1, a multi-let holding of 15,000sqft in London’s West End.

BCPT said the sales have been executed as part of its strategy to reduce its exposure to the office sector. Following the completion of the disposals, BCPT’s office exposure will fall to 25.4% by capital value, down from 28.4%, as the company continues to align its portfolio towards industrial and logistics, retail warehousing and operational alternatives.

Richard Kirby, fund manager of BCPT, said: “Our investment ethos has always focused on high quality real estate with strong fundamentals, and the pricing achieved on these sales underlines the importance of taking a quality-led approach.

“Our active management of the asset base ensures the portfolio is always evolving to capitalise on underlying market dynamics and we expect to make further positive announcements soon.”

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