Seoul-based FG Asset Management and The Valesco Group have teamed up to buy an office asset, from a Blackstone managed fund, for £248m (€284m).
Backed by South Korean investors, Mirae Asset Daewoo and NH Investments & Securities, FG, together with the London headquartered European real estate investment manager, have agreed to buy Cannon Bridge House in the City of London.
Cannon Bridge House provides 286,595sqft of office space split across two interconnecting buildings, the newly refurbished River Building and the Atrium Building.
The River Building comprising 91,698sqft and the Atrium Building provides a further 194,897sqft of institutional office accommodation. Both are fully let.
Shiraz Jiwa, the CEO of Valesco, said: “The joint venture between FG and Valesco allows us to marry compelling and unique European real estate assets with the highest quality international institutional investors, underpinned by a meticulous approach to underwriting and execution.
The investment backed by Korea’s two largest securities houses is a first move for both institutions in London demonstrating the appeal of prime City of London assets that combine both long income and asset management upside, Jiwa said.
“This is the first in a series of deployments by the FG Valesco joint venture as we target assets in the UK and mainland Europe which offer future upside based on a rigorous analysis of the underlying real estate fundamentals.”
