London’s real estate market is set for a wave of profit-taking as US private equity giant Blackstone brings a clutch of assets to the market.
London’s real estate market is set for a wave of profit-taking as US private equity giant Blackstone brings a clutch of assets to the market.
‘For the first time for a long time there’s a lot of product in the City,’ says Richard Divall, head of EMEA Cross-border capital markets at Colliers International.
Blackstone is often seen as a bellwether for the rest of the market in Europe, but in this case its sell-off of assets largely involves one of its funds that is coming to the end of its life, according to Divall.
The asset sale includes property on several of London’s main retail thoroughfares, including Regent Street and Bond Street. Standbrook House on Old Bond Street has been put up for sale by insurer NFU Mutual with a £160 mln (€216 mln) price tag.
The Malaysians are also notable vendors in London, said Divall, while the trend towards selling is sprading out towards the regions. In Birmingham Colliers International is acting as advisor on the sale of Brindley Place by US owners Lone Star and Hines.
The guide price for Brindley Place is £285 mln, representing a yield of around 5.5%. Occupiers include RBS, Deutsche Bank, Deloitte and Bilfinger GVA.
The office and retail estate was acquired by Hines and Moorfield five years ago in a £190 mln deal. In February Moorfield sold a £1 bn investment portfolio to Lone Star that included its 40% interest in Brindleyplace.
Global investors from Asia, north America and to a lesser extent Europe are believed to have signalled interest in the property, which Colliers says is the first major asset of scale to be put up for sale in the UP regions. ‘This is a real test for the regional UK markets and should put Birmingham back on the map,’ says Divall.