Singapore company City Developments Limited (CDL) has bought an office building in the City of London for £385m (€434m).
The acquisition of 125 Old Broad Street from Blackstone comes just over a month after it acquired another London office, Aldgate House, for £183m.
The two investments have been led by group CIO Frank Khoo, the former head of Asia-Pacific at AXA Investment Managers–Real Assets, who was hired by CDL at the beginning of the year.
“We have confidence in the long-term fundamentals of London as a global financial hub with a robust office market,” said Khoo.
“The short-term uncertainties surrounding Brexit have presented us opportunities to acquire assets with deep value. Capitalising on attractive pricing and yields, we have continued to expand our London commercial portfolio through strategic off-market acquisitions of high-performance assets.
“The tightening of London’s existing office stock and limited new supply will also drive rental growth into 2021.”
Cushman & Wakefield, which advised CDL on the purchase of 125 Old Broad Street and is also a tenant, said central London’s office market was “enjoying a robust performance”, with the strongest quarterly leasing volume for three years.
Blackstone bought the property in 2014 for £320m for its core-plus real estate strategy.
The property occupies a rare large freehold island site in the City of London, overlooking the Bank of England. The former home of the London Stock Exchange was redeveloped in 2008 and includes 329,200sqft of office, retail and ancillary accommodation arranged over three basement levels, ground floor, mezzanine and 26 upper floors.
