Plumtree Court, the 10-storey London building which will serve as Goldman Sachs’ European headquarters, is being acquired by Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) for £1.17bn (€1.30bn) in a sale and leaseback deal.
LaSalle Investment Management is buying the 826,008sqft building on behalf of NPS from investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in January next year.
Plumtree Court will be the new European headquarters of Goldman Sachs from mid-2019 when it is expected to take occupancy of the premises with a 25-year lease.
Richard Gnodde, the vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs and CEO of Goldman Sachs International, said: “The development of Plumtree Court and our signing of a long-term lease demonstrates our continued commitment to London and our European operations more broadly.”
Scott Kim, the head of global real estate at NPS: “This is one of the finest office buildings in London which will be let to an exceptional tenant for 25 years.
“We are excited to re-enter into London market with this high-quality asset which is well-aligned with our defensive strategy and will be an excellent addition to our already strong core portfolio.”
Julian Agnew, the CIO for the UK at LaSalle, said: “Given our long-term relationship with the client, we understand their investment priorities and as such are able to match this with assets which will provide long-term, stable income return.”
Gary Moore, the head of international accounts at LaSalle Investment Management, said: “This is a high-quality asset and a good strategic fit for our client.
”The acquisition was structured with a bespoke solution that enables us to generate enhanced gross returns from a core asset.”
