Catalyst gets £32.5m for London office and retail sites

Investment firm Catalyst Capital has sold two adjacent properties near London’s Blackfriars station to the City of London Corporation for £32.5 mln (€39 mln).

The assets, at 30-34 and 35-38 New Bridge Street, total 5,750 m2 of office and retail space. The properties were built in the late 1980s, with the offices now let to tenants including The Royal Bank of Scotland and accountants Macintyre Hudson. Retail and leisure tenants include a wine bar, Sainsbury’s supermarket and Starbucks.

'New Bridge Street follows our strategy in central London of buying properties that offer the potential for value enhancement through asset management initiatives,' said Guy Wilson, a partner at Catalyst Capital.

Michael Cassidy, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s property investment board, said: 'These two properties are located near the recently-refurbished London Blackfriars station, which will be an increasingly important gateway to the City as the Thameslink upgrade programme is completed.'

Catalyst Capital was advised by Browning Real Estate. The City of London Corporation was advised by BNP Paribas Real Estate.