Aviva Tower in London sells for EUR 326m

CB Richard Ellis Loan Servicing announced on Thursday that Aviva Tower, part of the failed White Tower 2006-3 plc commercial mortgage-backed security issue, is to be sold to an unnamed buyer for £288 mln (EUR 326 mln).

The 23-storey tower, which is leased to insurer Aviva, is just the latest in a string of high-profile offices in London to fall victim to the financial crisis. The tower formed part of Syrian-born tycoon Simon Halab's London property empire before he was declared bankrupt in April last year.

In a brief statement, the loan servicer said that Alan Hudson and Alan Bloom of Ernst and Young, joint receivers over the property, had executed the sale which is scheduled to close prior to the July 2011 interest payment date to noteholders of the CMBS.

CB Richard Ellis Loan Servicing put the tower on the market with a guide price of £284 mln, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.5%, in February.

This is the last of Halabi's nine properties backing the CMBS to be put up for sale. CBRE Loan Servicing placed the other eight buildings on the market last March in a bid to repay creditors after the bonds issued by Halabi defaulted in mid-2009. Last July, a fund managed by Carlyle Group snapped up six London offices formerly owned by Halabi for £671 mln - the US-based private equity group's first major purchase in the UK for two years.