LGIM Real Assets has invested has £70m (€80.8m) to buy a central London hotel on behalf of its managed property fund.
The asset manager said it has bought Yotel London Clerkenwell, 96-100 Clerkenwell Road, Farringdon from James Cowper Kreston Administrators.
The asset is the Yotel hotel group’s first central London hotel and features 212 cabins. Yotel will continue to operate the property under a long-term management agreement.
In addition to the hotel, the property comprises 3,000sqft of retail space and five apartments totalling 5,000sqft.
Rob Codling, senior fund manager for LGIM Real Assets, said: “This is the fund’s first operational hotel acquisition seizing a rare opportunity to acquire the hotel out of administration.
“The asset is located in a prime area of London, a short walk from Farringdon Station which with the opening of the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) will make it one of the busiest stations in the UK, providing a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on the recovery of the London hotel market following the Covid pandemic.”
LGIM Real Assets was represented by Constantine Real Estate and Gerald Eve. Knight Frank acted for James Cowper Kreston Administrators.
Paul Davies, partner at James Cowper Kreston, said: “We are pleased to have concluded a timely sale of the hotel following our appointment of administrators in December.
“There remains significant interest in the hotel sector for well-located and innovative hospitality assets such as YOTEL London Clerkenwell.”
Shaun Roy, partner and head of Hotels at Knight Frank, said: “This sale received significant traction and we had very strong interest from a wide variety of capital sources, which only goes to show the underlying strength and belief in the London hotel market and innovative brands such as Yotel.”
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