CEE developer debuts in London with €75m deal

CEE real estate developer HB Reavis has branched out to the UK with the acquisition of a project in the in the heart of London’s financial district.

The Bratislava-based company acquired a development site at 3 King William Street for €75 mln. The acquisition is the company’s first in the UK and marks the beginning of its expansion to the London office market.

With views of the River Thames, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Shard, the site involves an existing building fully rented until June 2014 to BlackRock. Upon expiration of the lease, HB Reavis intends to demolish the current building to make way for a speculative development project.

The site has planning consent for a 21,345 m2 John Robertson-designed office building, which will be completed in the second half of 2016.

HB Reavis was advised by Knight Frank and Norton Rose Fulbright.

'We have recently made a strategic decision to enter the commercial development market in London, as we strongly believe in the market’s fundamentals,' said Radim Øímánek, HB Reavis board member responsible for the UK business.

The CEE developer announced in mid October that it was opening an office in London.

'Our intention is to continue investment in additional high-quality development opportunities in London into 2014. We look forward to establishing our company as an active contributor to London’s world class real estate community,' added Tomas Jurdák, director of HB Reavis UK.

HB Reavis is active in Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary and its development portfolio comprises over 1.2 million m2 of leasable area.