The Valesco Group has led a consortium of South Korean investors to buy Microsoft’s UK headquarters for £100m (€112.3m).
Backed by South Korean investors, Valesco has teamed up with AIP Asset Management (AIP) to buy the 246,138sqft office campus in Reading from Solutus and FI Real Estate Management.
The freehold campus was developed by Microsoft and is let to Microsoft.
Shiraz Jiwa, the CEO of The Valesco Group, said: “This acquisition demonstrates our ability to unlock a complex holding structure by acting quickly and having the capital available to deploy. By doing this, we have secured a prime, sought-after asset in a strategically important location, which is generating high-quality income backed by an exceptional covenant.
“We are very pleased to be adding Microsoft to our portfolio of blue-chip tenants. The real estate fundamentals underpinning Reading are increasingly compelling and its entrepreneurial talent pool is very attractive to multinational occupiers.”
Earlier this year, Valesco’s and AIP [formerly known as FG Asset Management] joined to buy Cannon Bridge House in the City of London for £248m, also backed by South Korean investors.
“This transaction continues our commitment to the UK market where, in addition to mainland Europe, we see strong potential to further deploy capital to deliver value for our investors,” Jiwa said.